Future Card Buddyfight: Despair Revolt
by KnightSpark
Summary: Makoto Naegi is an average boy with average interests... who happens to enjoy a widely popular card game. It started out as an innocent game where others played for fun, but when a evil group threatens to plunge the world into despair, he'll need to gain all the skills he can to combat this darkness.
1. Chapter 0: Introduction

**KS: Hello, hello, hello, it's KnightSpark here. Now, I'm aware that I've been absent a little bit since my last update (college tends to do that), but I'll make an effort to update as soon as possible. Now, this fic right here is going to be unusual, for it will contain the following:**

 **-Violence**

 **-Swearing**

 **-Sexual Innuendo/Humour**

 **-One-liners**

 **-Chronic Rule Breaking**

 **-Occasional Fourth Wall Breaking**

 **-Suspense**

 **-A bit of romance**

 **-Crossovers**

 **-Every pop cult reference known to man**

 **KS: And those are just off the top of my head. This fic may not live up to your potential, but it was been brewing in my mind (like most of my other fics), so... I present to you... this mess. Enjoy~**

* * *

 _Buddyfight. A game that allows people to summon monsters from other worlds through the use of cards. This has been popular for many years, and had people making friends with each other..._

 _Although, it wasn't always like that._

 _As fun as the game is, it also has a dark side._

 _Some players would make unethical bets or even steal cards to gain an advantage on others. Or worse yet, use them for blackmail._

 _The list goes on from that point onward, so I won't bother going through all of them._

 _My point is, even something innocent like a card game can drive wedges in between people, even going so far as to make them bitter enemies._

 _I dare say that it could even it could drive people into... despair._

 _My name is Makoto Naegi. You might think I'm crazy for what I am about to tell you, but I assure you that it is the honest truth._

 _And I should know... because I was there._

* * *

 **Chapter 0: Introduction**

It was the beginning of April. The air was brisk and cool as the leaves were as green as the grass. People were walking around, either talking on their phones or to each other. Stores were opening, birds were singing, and there wasn't a single cloud in the sky.

Walking on the sidewalk was a young boy with brown hair and green eyes. He wore a black jacket over a green hoodie, black pants and red shoes and was carrying in his hand a small gray plastic case with stars on it. This boy was known as Makoto Naegi.

"It's so beautiful out here," he said as he looked around him. "And it's even better that I get to enroll on one of the best schools in this country."

Despite his less than remarkable appearance, Makoto had one redeeming quality that made him stand out: his undying optimism. He tends to look at the glass half full rather than half empty, no matter how bad things may seem. Sure, he may be less expressive than a wooden plank, but if there's one thing no one can take away from him, it's his optimism.

"I still can't believe I've been chosen by a random draw. Me, going to Hope's Peak Academy. It's unbelievable!"

Throughout the world, there are many famous schools, but none stood out like Hope's Peak Academy. It was said that only those of high status, celebrities or even those with excellent skills could enroll. Actually, students do not enroll in Hope's Peak, but they are scouted and welcomed to the school with open arms. Of course, there is also the aformentioned draw, where one person will be able to join Hope's Peak. And guess who wa lucky enough to win that draw? That's right. It was Makoto.

"Man, this is awesome! I can't wait to find out what kind of classes I'll be taking."

But when he was walking merrily... something, or rather, someone, got his attention.

"You have something I want."

Makoto stopped and turned to his right. There, he saw a slightly muscular young man standing a few meters away from him. His hairstyle was bizarre, with the bottom part being short and black and the top part, a long, brown pompadour. He wore a black jacket over a white shirt, black baggy pants held up by a belt with a lion-dog buckle and black loafers. He glared at Makoto with the intensity of a wolf.

"Huh?"

The man let out a low growl before he said, or rather, yelled:

"I said... YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT I WANT!"

Makoto jumped in shock and rushed towards him, handing him his wallet.

"I-It's all that I have!" he squeaked, attempting to rush off before the intimidating man stopped him.

"Kid, hold up. I don't your money. Wait a sec..." He looked down the walled and noticed a peculiar logo on it. He looked up at Makoto and frowned.

"BlazBlue? Really?" he asked.

Makoto looked offended. "Hey, it's a good game. Ask anyone!"

The man scoffed and tossed his wallet back to him. "Whatever. Guilty Gear is better. But that's not what I want from you."

"What is it that you want from me?"

The man reached into his pocket and pulled out an orange and red case with a blue jewel in the center.

"I want your cards."

Makoto blinked. "Huh?"

"I'm not gonna repeat myself, kid. Just be sure you got your game face on, or you're gonna get murdered. Oh, and my name is Mondo Owada. Know the name, 'cause I'm gonna pound it into your little skull!"

Mondo drew his left foot backwards and stretched his arm, gripping his case tightly.

" **Reign supreme and crush all who stand in the path of domination!** " Mondo's case began to glow, then transforms into a large hammer with flame decals. He swung it around a few times before slamming it on the ground. " **Luminize! Crazy Diamond Riot!** " He waved his hand over the jewel that happened to be on the handle.

Makoto's eyes widened, showing that he was more than a little overwhelmed by this.

" _N-No way... that's what a Core Gadget looks like up close? It's amazing!_ "

A stream of fire appears behind Mondo as well as an ominous silhouette that appeared from within the small inferno. Makoto couldn't tell from where he stood, but the silhouette almost looked feminine.

"Took you long enough," Mondo said, turning towards the fire.

The fire soon extinguished itself, and what Makoto saw, he couldn't bring himself to look away. Behind Mondo was a woman with long white hair and yellow eyes with black sclera. But what really made her stand out was her blue skin and black and purple full-body armor along with a black cloak.

"Please forgive me, Master," the woman said, bowing. "I had business to attend to in Danger World."

Makoto's heartbeat nearly stopped. " _Danger World!? So, that means..._ "

"Nah, it's alright," Mondo said nonchalantly. "And for the love of God, will you quit calling me Master?"

"As you wish, Master."

Mondo groaned and rubbed the back of his head. "Whatever..." He turned to Makoto, who was shaking. "What's your problem, kid?"

Makoto raised a shaky hand towards the woman behind Mondo. "T-That girl... is she...?"

Mondo turned to the woman in question. "Who, her? Yeah, she's my buddy. Say hello..."

The woman raised her arm with her hand open and a small flame appeared. As she crushed it, the flame started to transform into a 10-foot pole with a large blade at the end.

"...to Armorknight Dullahan." Mondo finished. "But between you and me, I like to call her Lala."

"Why?" Makoto asked.

"Not important. Now bring out your case, kid."

Hesitantly, Makoto reached into his pocked and pulled out his case as well. The case appeared to reflect its owner: completely ordinary.

"Is that it?" Mondo said in disbelief. " _That's_ your case?"

"I never got a buddy," Makoto said sheepishly. "So I make due with this."

Mondo laughed. "Kid, if you don't got a buddy, then you have no chance of beating me."

"We'll see about that," Makoto said, feeling a swell of determination, although it was faint.

* * *

In a dark forest, a group of armed men wearing black armor raced through the foliage, armed with batons and pistols.

"Where did he go?"

"He's around here somewhere!"

"Seal off the exits! Don't let him escape!"

While the men were running off, a boy emerged from the bushes, covered in dirt and bruises. He had wild blue hair and blue eyes, wore a white tank top with red and black sleeves, black pants and black sneakers. Immediately, he ran in the opposite direction of the men pursuing him.

"Tch... those bastards don't know when to quit," he growled. "Whatever. I'll be long gone by the time they figure out what the hell's going on."

He swiftly moved around many bushes, rocks and trees to get some distance between his pursuers and himself. Unfortunately, he didn't count on more men patrolling the thick woods.

"I have a visual on the target!"

The boy grit his teeth as he broke into a mad run, hoping to get the bogey of his tail. He didn't have much luck, as the man seemed to keep behind him, no matter what he did.

"Damn it, what are these guys made of?" he muttered as he ran faster.

The boy got desperate. He started to zig-zag and move erratically in every known direction, manouver through every obstacle that was in his path, even jumped off of steep ledges. But somehow, his pursuer was still on his trail.

"Damn, there really is no end to this," he groaned. "Looks like I don't have any other choice."

Soon enough, a pair of kukri knives attached a long rope materiallized in his hands.

"It's time I got this prick off my tail."

* * *

"Ah... He was so strong," Makoto sighed as he continued his walk. "I can't believe I thought I could stand a chance against him."

He walked until he finally reached a large building. That building is the very school he would enroll in: Hope's Peak Academy.

"Looks like I'm finally here," said to himself, walking into the building and looking at the hallway. There were a few other students who standing around, but he didn't recognize any of them. Well, apart from the girl that was walking toward him with a huge smile plastered on her face.

"Makoto! It's great to see you!"

The girl had long, dark blue hair with several hair clips and light blue eyes. She wore a a sailor-like, white-and-blue schoolgirl uniform with a pink bow on the front, a plaid blue skirt and black socks that end at her thighs with brown, buckled shoes.

Makoto also smiled when he saw the girl. "Sayaka?"

Sayaka hugged him tightly. "I haven't seen you since middle school." She broke her hug and looked at her childhood friend from top to bottom. "Still average as ever, I see."

Makoto chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah... I guess I haven't changed much. But the same could be said about you."

"What?" Sayaka pouted. "I've changed plenty."

"No, you look just like you did back then. Only with more make-up."

Sayaka puffed her cheeks in annoyance. "You're lucky you're my friend, or else I would've hit you."

He wouldn't admit it, but Makoto liked how Sayaka would occasionally get annoyed at certain things. It's one of the qualities that made him like her.

"So, are you still into Buddyfight?"

Makoto nodded. "Of course I am. It's really fun."

"But you rarely win," Sayaka pointed out.

Makoto sweatdropped. "You didn't have to say that."

Soon, a crackling sound was heard from the PA system.

" _Attention all new students, head towards the gymnasium for assembly._ "

"Well, looks like we should get going," Sayaka said.

"Yeah," Makoto replied while nodding. "Let's go."

* * *

Covered head to toe in scars and bruises, the boy somehow managed to escape his pursuers. There was a bit of blood on both of his knives, so it was clear he didn't get out without a fight. He stood near a cliff, looking at the city below.

"Finally... got those pricks off my trail," he said. "Now... where can I find a human to buddy up with?"

* * *

 **KS: Yeah, I know. Not that good, I'm sure. But! This is only the beginning. There will be more to come. When? I'm not sure, but I'll get started on the next chapter when I have the chance. Until then, good night and stay safe, people.**

* * *

 **Preview of Next Chapter**

Makoto: Who are you?

?: Why do you care? I'm not your friend.

Makoto: You could be if you tell me your name.

?: Why don't you introduce yourself first?

Makoto: O-Okay. I'm Makoto Naegi. And you are...?

?: My name is...

 **To be continued in Chapter 1: Virus Hunter.**


	2. Chapter 1: Virus Hunter

**KS: Hey, I'm back. I've got more of this for you, but I won't be able to update it frequently, what with college on my back and all. Anyway, enjoy.**

* * *

Upon reaching the gymasium, Makoto was amazed to see the vast number of students there. He was sure that all of them had some kind of talent, each one more unique than the last.

"Wow... there's so many people here," he said, his eyes gleaming.

Sayaka giggled at his enthusiasm. "Not what you expected, huh?"

"This is a lot more than what I expected," Makoto replied, looking around. "You know how there's a red carpet event and you see celebrities coming out of limos? This almost feels like that!"

"I don't think it works that way, Makoto."

"You know what I mean."

Both of them stopped talking when they saw a man wearing a black suit and purple tie walk up to the podium.

"Hello everyone," he said. "I formally welcome you to Hope's Peak Academy. My name is Jin Kirigiri, and I am the headmaster. As many of you already know, this school is famous for its students who have various talents and privileged status. During your time here..."

As the headmaster droned on, Makoto continued to think about what talents the other students. Sure, he saw on a website that there would be others who are famous for something. A baseball pro, an Olympics-class swimmer, hell, a leader of a bike gang was enrolling. And those were just the tip of the iceburg.

"Everyone must have something that makes them special," he muttered to himself. "Kind of makes me feel insignificant in comparison."

"Don't worry about it," Sayaka said reassuringly. "If they look down on you because you don't have special talent, that's their problem." She smiled at him. "Besides, you're special to me."

Makoto blushed. "Heh-heh... thanks, Sayaka."

 _Just like when we were in middle school... she always knows how to make me feel better._

"Yep, I really do know how to make you feel better, don't I?"

Makoto blinked. "Wha? How did you-"

"I'm psychic, remember?" Sayaka said.

Makoto blankly stared at her for a moment. Then, she began to laugh.

"I'm kidding," she laughed. "I just have very good intuition."

Makoto laughed awkwardly. "Yeah... I forgot about that."

* * *

The boy staggered with each step he took. Apparently, his fight against his pursuers took a bigger toll on him than he anticipated. His vision was fading and his breathing was shallow. He looked as if he would pass out any minute.

"Can't... stop... here... need... to... find..."

He fell to his knees, breathing harder than ever.

"Damn it... I can't fall... here... need to find... a... buddy..."

He finally fell down, all of his strength leaving him. He didn't even hear the sounds of someone calling out for him.

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Virus Hunter**

* * *

"What?! That must have been horrible! Did he do anything to you after that?"

"No, not really. As soon as I lost, he muttered something about the battle being a waste of time and took off. For a second, I thought I was going to beat me up."

After the assembly, Makoto and Sayaka took a stroll around the campus. He was telling her about the time he battled Mondo and lost miserably.

"You know, if you had a buddy monster, you might have an edge against other people," Sayaka said.

"If only I could find one," Makoto replied wistfully. "So far, I haven't been able to find a rare card."

Sayaka patted him on the head. "Don't worry, you'll get one soon, I'm sure of it. In the meantime, do you want to see my buddy?"

"Maybe later, I want to see what else this school has to offer," Makoto denied politely. "I'll see you soon."

He walked off, leaving Sayaka behind.

"Maybe I should've been more bold in my approach," she sighed.

" **I wouldn't worry about it,** " a cheerful voice said. " **He'll soon realize your feelings towards him and return them with the same amount of affection. After all, good things come to those who wait.** "

Sayaka reached into her pocket and took out a pink case with cards in it.

"I hope your right," she said.

* * *

Makoto continued his walk around the school's interior. The hallways seemed a little strange to him with each of them having different color lighting, but at the same time, it was refreshing.

"Wow, it's so colorful," he said as he looked around. He was so enamoured by the sights that he failed to notice his surroundings and bumped into someone.

"Oh, I'm sorry I... I..."

The reason why Makoto's words fell short is because of the person he bumped into. He was certain she was a woman, putting aside her rather muscular appearance and tanned skin. She also had white hair, blue eyes, and a scar across her face. She wore a sailor uniform with the sleeves ripped, exposing her bandaged arms, and a blue skirt that made little effort in concealing her legs.

Makoto's failed to make a complete sentence as he looked into the woman's intense gaze.

"I... I..."

The woman kneeled down to Makoto's eye level and softened her features.

"Please forgive me," she said in a deep, yet gentle tone. "I didn't mean to intimidate you."

Makoto shook his head. "Don't worry about it. It's my fault for not looking where I was going."

The woman chuckled. "You are capable of recognizing your mistake and admitting it. That is very noble." She extended her hand. "I am Sakura Ogami."

"I'm Makoto Naegi," he replied, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you, Sakura."

"Likewise."

Makoto felt like he could breathe easy now. When he first looked into Sakura's eyes, he thought that she might crush him for bumping into her. Turns out, she appeared to be calm despite her fear-inducing appearance.

"Hey, Sakura," he said. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your talent?"

"I am a skilled martial artist with an extensive fighting techniques," Sakura explained. "Of course, without proper training, most of the techniques I have learned can lead to serious injury."

Makoto sweatdropped. "I can imagine..."

"But enough about me. What is your talent?"

"Well..."

Before Makoto could reply, a string a voices was heard from down the hall.

"Hey, did you hear?" a voice said. "Someone passed out in front of the school building!"

"What?" another voice replied. "You're kidding me, dude. What did he look like?"

"I don't know. They brought him to the nurse's office. We should go see him."

Makoto heard what was said, and suffice to say, he was rightly shocked.

"Someone passed out in front of the school? I wonder who it was."

"Perhaps we should see into this matter," Sakura suggested. "I passed the nurse's office while I was walking around. I can guide you there."

Makoto nodded. "Thanks, Sakura. I appreciate it."

* * *

 _Calculating..._

 _Calculating..._

 _Vital signs at critical levels._

 _System failure imminent._

 _Self-repair program initialized._

* * *

Makoto and Sakura walked into the nurse's office and noticed a small crowd surrounding the bed. Specifically, two boys and a girl. There also a boy with blue hair laying on the bed. His body has covered in scratches and bruise marks, but he was breathing normally.

"He looks like he's in bad shape," the first boy said. He has a punk-like appearance with pale blue eyes, spiky orange hair, a few facial piercings and a goatee. He wore a white shirt with a red skull decal over a white jacket, black pants and white shoes with platform soles.

"You should have seen him. He looked as if he had been in a fight." the second replied. He had spiky black hair, red eyes and large eyebrows. He wore a white uniform with gold buttons on the sleeves and chest area, as a well as a gold medal pinned to it along with black knee-high lace boots. He also had an armband with a kanji that translated into "public morals."

"W-Why did they bring him h-here? For all we know, he's some deranged psychopath," the girl stuttered. She had long purple hair tied into two braids, silver eyes with round glasses and a mole on the left side of her face. She wore a purple uniform with a yellow tie and long skirt and black dress shoes.

The chatter of the three caused the boy in bed to stir a little.

"Hey, he's starting to wake up," Makoto pointed out.

The boy stirred some more, which soon devolved into violent tossing and turning, followed by some muttering.

"Just try it, you bastard... you want a piece of this... I'll make you regret the day you were created..."

Everyone stared as he thrashed around while muttering threats.

"Is... is he having a nightmare?" Makoto asked.

"Some akin to that," Sakura answered. "Perhaps he is reliving an unpleasent memory."

Soon, the boy's eyes shot open and swiftly rose from the bed, breathing heavily.

"Damn it... not again," he panted, sweat dripping from his face. "I swear, I keep having those... dreams."

His voice trailed off when he saw the group of people next to him.

"Who the hell are you lot?" he asked crudely.

The boy with the large eyebrows was taken aback by his attitude and scowled at him.

"Is that any way greet someone? Especially when they brought you here to heal when they found you passed out, covered in bruises?"

"Did you bring me here?"

"W-Well, no, but-"

"Then shut the fuck up," the boy snapped. "I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Hey dude, chill out," the spiky haired boy said. "No need to get agitated."

The boy scoffed. "Agitated? I'm not agitated. I'm pissed off and I feel like ripping someone to shreds. Luckily, I have just the tool for... huh?"

He reached behind him, only to find out that he's missing something.

"What seems to be the problem?" Sakura asked.

The boy moved sat up and looked around frantically. "Where are my knives? I know I had them with me."

Makoto tilted his head. "Knives? What knives?"

"You know," the boy responded. "The ones with the inwardly curved blade. I forgot what they were called, though."

Sakura immediately knew what he was talking about. "Are you refering to kukri knives?"

The boy nodded. "Yeah, I think that was the official name for them. Although, I remember having them before I passed out."

The black-haired boy perked up. "Oh, those? I confiscated them."

"...What's your name?"

"Oh, my name Kiyotaka Ishimaru. I am known as the Ultimate Moral Comp- AGH!"

Kiyotaka was cut short when the boy grabbed him by the throat and slammed him into the wall shocking everyone.

"Listen, Kiyotaka," the boy growled. "What gave you the right to take away _my_ knives?"

Kiyotaka choked as he struggled to talk. "Any form... of weaponry... is not permitted... at Hope's... Peak... Academy."

"I don't care," the boy snarled. "Just give me my knives or you're gonna be in a world of hurt."

Sakura, having enough, stepped in and seperated the two. Kiyotaka slumped to the floor, grasping his throat while coughing.

"Now you listen here," she said sternly. "I don't know where you came from, but I will not allow you threaten people like that."

The boy scowled at her. "Don't talk down to me, Akuma. Fair word of warning, I've cut down people who were twice your size."

Sakura narrowed her eyes at the boy. His attitude was insufferable enough, but now he claims that he has beaten foes that were bigger than her.

"Um... excuse me."

Everyone present in the room turned to Makoto, who had his hand raised.

"What?" the boy spat impatiently.

"Who are you?" Makoto asked plainly.

The boy stared at him for a brief moment, then scoffed. "Why do you care? I'm not your friend."

"You could be if you told me your name."

He tilted his head, eyeing Makoto carefully. In his eyes, Makoto looked... bland. No originality, no drive, nothing. Just a blank slate devoid of creativity. But looking into his eyes, he couldn't help but wonder if there was something more to him.

"Why don't you introduce yourself first," he said, moving closer to Makoto.

Makoto shivered a bit when the boy was an inch away from him.

"O-Okay." He straighten himself up. "My name is Makoto Naegi. And you are?"

The boy moved back and scratched the back of his head. "My name is NTA-234013."

Everyone stared at him in surprise. Upon looking seeing their reactions, the boy realized his blunder.

"Shit, that's not what I meant," he cursed before clearing my throat. "Sorry, that was my serial number. My name is Slash. Virus Hunter, Slash."

The boy with orange hair quickly moved up to him. "Whoa! Slash? Virus Hunter? Man, that has got to be the most badass name I've ever heard!"

The boy, named Slash, was a little overwhelmed by his enthusiasm. Actually, he found it a little suffocating.

"Okay, I think we've established my name is awesome, but who are you?"

"I'm Leon Kuwata, the Ultimate Baseball Star!" the boy replied, grinning widely.

"Uh-huh... nice to meet you, Leon. I think."

Leon appeared offended by that remark. "Hey, what do you mean-"

Slash shoved him aside and locked eyes with the nervous-looking girl. She began to shake in fear upon looking at such an intimidating figure.

"You," he said, making her jolt in fear. "Name and occupation, let's go."

"T-T-Toko Fukawa," she stuttered. "I-I'm the Ult-ti-ti-"

Slash walked towards her until his face was close to hers. "Come on, I'm not getting any younger here."

The slightly forceful act made Toko fidget some more.

"Dude, lay off her," Leon sighed. "You're freaking her out with that hostile approach you've got going on."

Slash scoffed. "Please, if I was being hostile, I'd have my knives pressed against her throat. That is, if I had the damn things."

"Well, now I'm glad I had them confiscated," Kiyotaka muttered.

Leon pulled Slash away from Toko. "Just give her some breathing room, alright? You're scaring her."

Slash glared at the baseball pro. "She won't tell me what she is. I need to know, damn it."

"Did you try asking politely?"

"No. And frankly, I don't see any reason to. Politeness is a waste of time. Mine, at least."

Everyone stared at Slash blankly.

"So... why are you here?" Makoto asked, breaking the silence.

"Well..."

The sound of gurgling interrupted Slash. He looked down towards his stomach, then laughed awkwardly.

"Can we talk over food?" he asked. "I'm kind of famished here."

Makoto couldn't help but laugh a little. "Sure. I saw the cafeteria while I was walking around. I'll guide you to it."

Slash smirked and put his arm around Makoto. "You know, you got a pretty big heart for someone with a scrawny build."

"Scrawny?"

Both of them left the nurse's office, leaving everyone else behind.

"Should we really let him walk around so freely?" Kiyotaka asked, not bothering to hide the concern in his voice. "It's clear that he will resort to violence without a second thought."

"I doubt he'll do anything rash at the moment," Sakura said. "But it would be in our best interest that we keep an eye on him in case he does something."

Leon sighed. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I think he's a good dude. He just has a hard time showing it."

Kiyotaka and Sakura looked at Leon expectantly.

"For all our sakes, I pray that you are right," Kiyotaka said grimly.

* * *

Makoto brought Slash to the cafeteria and upon arriving there, both of them were taken in by the sights.

"Wow, this place looks good," Slash said, looking around. "I hope the food here is just as good."

"Same here," Makoto replied. "To be honest, I'm a bit hungry myself."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get some grub."

The duo walked over to the food tray, when suddenly, Makoto bumped into someone... again.

"Oh, sorry," he said.

The person he bumped into didn't look very happy. In fact, he looked annoyed. He had short blond hair, blue eyes behind white-framed glasses. He wore a black suit with matching dress shoes and a white shirt underneath along with a green cross tie.

"Watch we're you're going, you twit," he said harshly.

Makoto was taken aback by his cruel response followed by his cold gaze. However, Slash stepped in front and glared back at him.

"What's your problem?" he asked. "He never intended to bump into you."

"I don't care if he intended to do so or not," the boy shot back. "His inability to look in front of him caused this to happen and I do not appreciate it."

"I don't remember asking if you appreciate it," Slash growled. "Just don't give Makoto a hard time for an innocent mistake."

The boy scoffed. "Innocent? How is not looking where you're going and bumping into someone considered innocent?"

"It happens to a lot of people!" Slash retorted. "And besides, what the hell makes you so damn special?"

"Hmph. Normally, I wouldn't introduce myself to such rabble as yourselves, but I'll humor you just this once."

His attitude confused Makoto and annoyed Slash beyond comprehension.

"My name is Byakuya Togami. I am the current head of the-"

"No one asked for your background, jerkoff," Slash interruped.

Makoto swiftly turned to him and panicked. "Slash, I don't think you should-"

"Is the concept of respect lost on you?" Byakuya snapped, gaining the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. "I honestly don't know what I have done to deserve such insolence from some... some..."

Slash got up in Byakuya's face, all while glaring at him. "Say it. I fuckin' dare you."

Byakuya's eyebrow began to twitch. He had just met Makoto and Slash, and already, the latter wasted no time in testing his patience. Which was wearing thin, by the way. But he wouldn't allow himself to lose his temper, especially not in front of someone unrefined as Slash.

"You know what? I don't have to waste my breath on you two. I have a better way of settling this," he said, regaining his composure.

Makoto and Slash looked at each other, then towards Byakuya.

"What do you mean?" Makoto asked.

Byakuya took out a light blue case and presented it to them.

"I challenge you to a Buddyfight."

* * *

 **KS: Well, would you look at that? Makoto's first day at a school and already he recieved a challenge. How will he fare in the upcoming struggle? Stay tuned to find out. (laughs) Man, I sound like some cheesy announcer at the end those classic shows.**

 **NOTE: Oh, by the way, for those that are reading this chapter, I'm having a bit of trouble thinking of what Makoto's Core Gadget will look like. If you could throw down some suggestions, that would be wonderful.**

* * *

 **Preview of Next Chapter**

Slash: You ready, Makoto?

Makoto: (nervous) Y-Yeah, I'm ready.

Slash: Doesn't sound like it.

Makoto: What do you mean?

Slash: I mean, you look like you're gonna faint any time now.

Makoto: Really? I didn't notice.

Slash: You're shaking like a leaf and you're sweating like a pig.

Makoto: I... didn't notice up until now.

 **To be continued in Chapter 2: Prince vs. Pauper! Royalty vs. Mediocrity! Silver vs. Plastic!**


	3. Chapter 2: Prince vs Pauper

**KS: (exhales) What it do, everyone? It's your boy back at it again with Despair Revolt. Now, I am aware that a great number of you have been anxiously to see what's about to go down. Well, it's gonna happen now, but a fair word warning, this is my first time writing out a scene like this, if you have any feedback or opinions, don't hesistate to make them heard. Now... let's begin.**

* * *

Makoto blanked out for at least a minute. He bumped into someone, the person did not take kindly being bumped into and chews him out for it, only for Slash to jump in and chew him out for overreacting. Then, he starts to tear into him for his pompous attitude, insulting him, and-

"Did you not register what I just said?"

Makoto blinked a few times before rapidly shaking his head. He blinked some more to see Byakuya glaring at him with his case raised towards him.

"Uh... what were you saying again? I kind of spaced out."

"Makoto," Slash said. "This asswipe challenged you to a Buddyfight."

Byakuya's eyebrow twitched at the insult. "Be silent. I don't recall speaking to you."

Slash turned to him scoffed. "Don't order me around like I'm some sort of servant, you prick."

"Why you..."

"Excuse me for a minute!"

Both of them turned to Makoto, who still appeared to have no grasp on the current situation.

"Why exactly are you challenging me to a Buddyfight?" he asked.

Byakuya stared at him in disbelief. "Where exactly do you get off?"

Makoto tilted his head. "What?"

"First, you bump into me. Then, you allow this..." he pointed to Slash. "This uncouth renegade to insult me. And now, you have the gall to ask me why I am challenging you to a Buddyfight. You have some gall."

"Alright, alright, back up for a minute," Slash interjected, stepping towards Byakuya. "I might be uncouth, but call me a renegade again and I'll slit your throat."

"Oh, really?" Byakuya said smugly. "And I suppose you have the tools for doing such a thing?"

Slash let out a low growl. "I would, but some meddling do-gooder happened to have my knives confiscated."

Byakuya smirked. "So, you threaten me, but you lack the necessary tools to back up your threat. How sad."

Slash chuckled dryly. "Yeah, smile all you want, you rat bastard. If it makes you feel better, I can kill a man with my own hands if I need to. I've had every form of hand-to-hand combat uploaded into my skull, so if you want to test me, now's the time." He then gestured to Makoto. "Just don't involve him. I'm the one who started beef with you."

"Whether you started this... incident is irrelevant," Byakuya said. "I challenged this brat to a Buddyfight and I expect him to take it." He quickly strode away from them to the entrance, only to stop and turn around. "Courtyard, one hour, don't be late." He continued walking until he was out of the cafeteria.

Slash let out a frustrated sigh. "Well, this is not good."

"What's not good?" Makoto asked.

"Well, I just pissed that guy off, but he challenged you. Even worse, he's picked out a location and time for us to have this fight. I don't know about you, but... I think you're screwed."

Makoto stared at Slash for a few minutes before speaking.

"Do you really think that?"

Slash was taken aback by his response. "What?"

"You make it sound like I'm going to lose, but you've never seen me fight. Doesn't that seem a little... I don't know, presumptuous?"

"That depends. Let me see your deck."

Makoto sweatdropped. "Huh?"

"You heard me. Let me see it."

Reluctantly, Makoto reached into his pocket and took out his deck, which had a rubber band keeping them together. He took the band off and showed his cards to Slash.

"You... all you have is generics?" he asked in disbelief.

Makoto chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, I do."

Slash stared at him. "And you've been playing with them? H-How many fights have you won with these things?"

"Not a lot, really..."

It took every fiber in Slash's body to prevent his jaw from falling on the ground. This kid has been playing a deck full of generic cards his whole life. And he barely scraped by. Although, he had to give him credit. He was able to win a few fights, even if at a measly rate with this kind of deck.

"Well, at least you manage to win some fights. I'll give you that."

Makoto smiled a little. "Thank you."

"But, you need a better deck if you want to role with the big shots in this game, you know." Makoto was about to say something, but Slash put his hand in front of him. "Now, I'm not telling you to throw away your generic-ass deck, which I was almost tempted to do the moment I saw it, but try a new one. A deck that you're not familiar with at all."

"You mean... like Dragon World?" Makoto asked.

"No."

"Then... Magic World?"

"No."

"Danger?"

"No."

"Dungeon?"

"No."

"Ancient?"

Slash sighed. "It's not Dragon, Magic, Danger, Dungeon, Ancient, Hero, Darkness Dragon or Star Dragon. I didn't come from any of those worlds."

Makoto tilted his head in confusion. "Then, which world did you come from?"

Slash smirked. "I come from-"

And once again, his stomach interrupted him, signalling that it demands food.

"Right... we'll talk some more after some grub. I'm going to faint from hunger here."

* * *

 **Chapter 2:** **Prince vs. Pauper! Royalty vs. Mediocrity! Silver vs. Plastic!**

* * *

Sayaka walked around in the hall, looking to see if she would run into Makoto again. She really wanted to make her feelings towards him known and couldn't bear to hold it in anymore.

"Alright. I'm going to find Makoto and tell him how I feel about him," she said.

" **That's the spirit,** " a voice said from her deck case. " **All you gotta do is go up to him and say to his herbivore face that you love him. He's sure to pick you up in his arms, then take you-** "

Sayaka blushed madly as steam blew out of her ears. "I don't want that! What is your problem?"

" **What, did you forget? I can sense your true emotions from a mile away. You know this, Saya.** "

"Ugh... I don't know what's worse: you sensing my emotions or that dumb nickname you have for me."

" **Eh, I'll let you pick.** "

Sayaka continued to walk down the hall, when she noticed a girl standing near a window. She had a lovely figure with milk chocolate skin, brown hair tied in a ponytail and eyes blue as the skies above. She wore blue shorts, a red jacket over a white tank top and white sneakers.

"Um, excuse me," Sayaka called out.

The girl turned to her and smiled. "Yeah?"

"What are you looking at out there?"

The girl turned to the window once more. It looks like something going to happen down at the courtyard. It looks like a buddyfight."

Sayaka tilted her head. "Buddyfight?"

"Yeah! Wanna go check it out?"

"Uh..."

Before Sayaka could answer, the girl grabbed her by the arm and rushed off.

"W-What are you doing?!" she asked in surprise.

"You were taking too long to answer, so I figured you wanted to go see it," the girl answered. "By the way, my name's Aoi Asahina. Call me Hina, okay?"

Sayaka had no time to answer as she was dragged along.

" _How did it come to this...?_ " she thought.

* * *

"Well, well. You actually showed up," Byakuya said condescendingly with his arms crossed. "I figured you had cold feet."

Makoto stood a few feet away from him, with Slash standing beside him. "It's not like I had a choice. I just felt like I couldn't back out of it even if I wanted to."

Byakuya dryly chuckled. "What, are you that much in a hurry to be struck down like the worthless nail you are? Do you really want to be humiliated in every aspect? Do you want-"

"Do you want to be stripped down to your boxers and left hanging on the lightpost?" Slash interrupted. "No? Then shut the fuck up and whip out your deck, pal. And save the trash talk, we don't need it."

Byakuya scowled and grit his teeth. "Such insolence... I shall teach you manners soon enough." He brought out his case and raised to his shoulder.

" **Those who stand in my way are destined to lose, for I show no mercy to the unwashed masses.** " Byakuya's case soon transformed into a cane with a falcon's head at the top, the jewel being at the center. " **Luminize. Privileged Strike.** " He waved his hand over the jewel, and five cards appeared in front of him.

Slash groaned. "Good God, even the name of his deck sounds pretentious." He turned to Makoto, who was gripping a deck of cards in his left hand.

"We can take him," he said with confidence. "I know it."

Slash smirked. "Yeah, we will." He looked up towards Byakuya and pointed at him. "Hey, Togami! Don't get too comfortable with that crown, 'cause we're gonna knock it off of your head soon enough!"

Byakuya let out a low growl. "You... I will silence you soon enough. Continue to squawk at your own peril, fool."

Makoto brought his case out and loaded his cards into it. He swiped his hand over the case and five cards appeared.

"Now... let's raise the flag!" Both of them said.

"I fight for Dungeon World," Byakuya announced, the flag of said world appearing above him.

"And I..." Makoto started, as Slash lifted the flag above him, while letting out a loud roar that got the attention of anyone passing by. "I fight... for Virtual World!"

The flag that Slash held in his hands was a aquamarine triangle with seven circles linked to one another, forming a hexagon.

"Virtual World," Byakuya scoffed. "I've never heard of such a world. Do you really think you can beat me with a unknown world?"

"We'll just have to see," Makoto said confidently.

"Tch... Looks like I'll have to show you where you stand in this life."

 _ **Makoto: Life 10, Gauge 3**_

 _ **Byakuya: Life 10, Gauge 3**_

"I will start now. Draw." Byakuya took a card from his gadget and added it to his hand. "Charge and draw." Then he added a card to his gauge and drew another card.

 _ **Byakuya's Gauge: 4**_

"For my first move, I call to the center Dachs, Cobalt." He threw the card to the center position, and a brown dog with silver armor appeared, armed with a spear and shield.

 _ **Dachs, Cobalt**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 5000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 1000**_

 _ **World: Dungeon World**_

 _ **Attribute: Dungeon Enemy**_

"Now, attack the fighter," Byakuya ordered.

Cobalt barked in agreement and charged towards Makoto. He braced himself for the attack as the dog struck him in the chest, bring his life point count down.

"Agh!"

 **Makoto's Life: 8**

 _ **Byakuya: End of Move**_

"That's it for my turn," Byakuya said, crossing his arms. "Good luck recovering after that."

 _ **Makoto: Your Move**_

Makoto took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I draw." He took a card from his gadget and added it to his hand. "Charge and draw." He then added a card to his gauge and drew another one.

 _ **Makoto's Gauge: 4**_

" _Which one should I go with first?_ " he wondered as he looked through his deck. He gave a thorough look at all of the cards he had on hand, but he was unsure as to which one he should pick.

"Don't over think it," Slash said. "You played this game before, so you should be alright. Just don't let that slimeball get under your skin."

"Uh... okay," Makoto replied. He gave the cards a second look, and decided to make his move. He picked up a card and prepared to summon a monster.

"First, I'll call to the center Wave Program, Nereid to the center."

A young woman with green blue skin, short white hair and yellow eyes appeared in the center position. She had fins on both sides of her head, a neon blue bikini top and a long tail. For some reason, there were glowing lines on the visible parts of her body.

 _ **Wave Program, Nereid**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 4000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 2000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attribute: Program**_

"Wow, this monster is pretty cute," Makoto said.

Nereid blushed and covered her face after hearing that. Slash chuckled and scratched his head.

"Yeah, might want to keep that to yourself, kid," he said. "Trust me, she gets embarrassed pretty easily."

Makoto blinked. "She gets embarrassed easily?"

"Just focus on the fight, man. I'll explain later."

"Um, okay." Makoto raised another card. "Next, I call to the right Fire Program, Ifrit."

He threw a card to the right position and appeared another girl, only with lighter skin, short black hair and purple eyes. She had horns on top of her head and wore a white tank top with flame decals and gray shorts.

 _ **Fire Program, Ifrit**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 3000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 1000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attribute: Program**_

"Okay, who's ready to get roasted?" she said enthusiastically.

Makoto sweatdropped. "Okay... and now, I call to the left, Phantom Malware Dragon.

And finally, to his left, a small white and purple dragon sitting on a large ball.

 _ **Phantom Malware Dragon**_

 _ **Size: 0**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 2000**_

 _ **Critical: 1**_

 _ **Defense: 1000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attribute: Virus Dragon**_

"These monsters are unlike any I've seen before," Makoto said in surprise.

"Well, now you got them before anyone else," Slash replied. "You should feel some pride in that, kid."

"Maybe I will."

"Excuse me," Byakuya called out. "But are you going to attack or not? I may not look it, but I have a meeting."

Makoto chuckled awkwardly. "Oh, okay." Makoto composed himself and prepared to strike. "Nereid, attack Cobalt!"

The mermaid rushed towards the armored dog and shot a ball of corrupted data at him. Cobalt attempted to block it, but he got hit with it, destroying him completely.

"Now Ifrit, attack the fighter!"

Ifrit smirked as she leaped up into the air and aimed her hands towards Byakuya, shooting out balls of fire towards him.

 _ **Byakuya's Life: 8**_

"Okay, Phantom, you're next. Go and attack Byakuya."

Phantom began to rev up his ball, then dashed off towards Byakuya, hitting him in his leg.

 _ **Byakuya's Life: 7**_

"Those attacks were amazing," Makoto said. "I wonder what the other monsters are like."

"Don't get too excited," Slash chided lightly. "There's still a long way to go before we can beat this asswipe."

Makoto nodded. "You're right."

 _ **Makoto: End of Move**_

Byakuya did not look impressed in the slightest. "So you managed to get a few lucky shots in. Big deal."

 _ **Byakuya: Your Move**_

"Draw. Charge and Draw."

 _ **Byakuya's Gauge: 5**_

Byakuya repeated the same process as before. "To start things off, I pay one gauge to equip Adventurer's Staff, Alcsbane."

The card Byakuya selected transformed into a golden staff. He twirled it around using his fingers with very little trouble.

 _ **Adventurer's Staff, Alcsbane**_

 _ **Type: Item**_

 _ **Power: 6000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **World: Dungeon World**_

 _ **Attribute: Adventurer/Staff/Weapon**_

 _ **Byakuya's Gauge: 4**_

"Look at this prick showing off," Slash grumbled. "Who the hell does he think he is?"

"Now, I shall call to the right Big Surprise, Pandora."

Appearing in the right position was a sinister-looking treasure box with legs holding a flag in its hand and a few bombs in his mouth.

 _ **Big Surprise Pandora**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 5000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 3000**_

 _ **World: Dungeon World**_

 _ **Attribute: Dungeon Enemy**_

"And to the left, Doberman, Cobalt."

Appearing in the left position was another armored dog, but it was slightly taller than the one Byakuya previously summoned and was armed with a halberd.

 _ **Doberman, Cobalt**_

 _ **Size: 2**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 5000**_

 _ **Critical: 3**_

 _ **Defense: 3000**_

 _ **World: Dungeon World**_

 _ **Attribute: Dungeon Enemy**_

"Now, let's start by taking out the trash. Doberman, attack that pitiful excuse for a dragon this instant."

Doberman barked in agreement and charged towards Phantom. The small dragon yelped in terror as it was sliced in half by the dog's halberd. But then, a ball of light stood where the dragon was.

"What is that?" Byakuya asked.

"An ability from Phantom Malware," Makoto answered. "Whenever he is destroyed by a Size 2 monster, he goes into my gauge instead of the drop zone."

"Oh, really? Well, we'll see how that lasts for you. Pandora, attack Nereid."

The treasure box started jumping around in joy and threw a bomb at the mermaid. Nereid gasped in shock as the bomb detonated, destroying her.

"And now, I attack with Alcsbane!"

Byakuya charged towards Makoto with the spear in his hand, and stabbed him right in his chest.

"Gah!"

 _ **Makoto's Life: 6**_

Byakuya jumped back to his side of the field and adjusted his glasses. "Oh, I almost forgot."

Makoto held the spot where he was stabbed. "What? What did you forget?"

Byakuya sighed, then let out a smug grin. "Whenever I attack a monster or fighter with Alcsbane and have a Dungeon Enemy on my field, I am able to add the top card of my deck to my gauge." And he did just that, adding onto his total.

 _ **Byakuya's Gauge: 5**_

 _ **Byakuya: End of Move**_

"You might as well give up now. Your chances were low the moment I became your opponent."

"We'll see about that."

Byakuya blinked. "What?"

Makoto stared at him, determination burning in his eyes. "I show you that I'm not to be underestimated!"

 _ **(Flashback)**_

"Okay, Makoto. I've taught you the basics of this world. Now it's up to you to decide how you want to use it," Slash said.

Makoto looked at the cards Slash had given him. They were all from a world he was not familiar with, so he was unsure that he would be able to use the deck without any trouble.

"I'm not sure if I can use this," he said. "I've never seen this world in action. What if I mess up? What if I don't get right card?"

Slash sighed. "Makoto..."

"What if don't have gauge, what if my monsters aren't enough, what if-"

Makoto would have ranted some more, if Slash hadn't chopped him on the top of his head.

"Oww..." Makoto rubbed the sore spot and looked towards Slash. "Why did you do that?"

"You were panicking," Slash answered.

Makoto looked away in embarrassment. "Oh... I guess I was."

Slash sighed. "Makoto, look. I know you're nervous as hell, but if you let take you over, that posh prick is going to use it against you."

"It's hard not to be nervous. I'm going to fight him with a deck I'm not familiar with," Makoto said.

"Well..." Slash was silent, thinking for a brief moment. He had to find a way to make Makoto get his nerves in check, or else it will cost him in the fight. Then, it came to him.

"How about this: think of something that makes you calm. Something that, I don't know, makes you feel warm and fuzzy inside."

"Like what?" Makoto asked.

Slash shrugged. "It can be anything you want. Just so long as it keeps you calm in battle."

"Well, if you say so..."

 _(_ _ **End Flashback**_ _)_

"I can do this," Makoto whispered to himself. "I just have to focus and I'll be fine."

 _ **Makoto: Your Move**_

"Draw!" Makoto drew a card and added to his hand. "Charge and draw!" Then he took a card from his hand and added it to his gauge.

 _ **Makoto's Gauge: 5**_

"Now, I call to the left Spyware Dragon."

Makoto threw a card to the left position, and was soon replaced by a tall, lanky dragon wearing gray armor from head to toe (or tail, if you want to be technical). The dragon was armed with two pistols.

 _ **Spyware Dragon**_

 _ **Size: 2**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 4000**_

 _ **Critical: 3**_

 _ **Defense: 3000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attribute: Virus Dragon**_

"And to the center, I call Buffering Mage, Avira."

A tall woman with long black hair, red-rimmed glasses and a long, gray flowing cloak appeared on the field, holding a staff with a ball of data at the top.

 _ **Buffering Mage, Avira**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 3000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense 2000**_

 _ **Attribute: Administrator**_

Slash smirked at the field, impressed with Makoto's selection of monsters. He was certain that he had some kind of plan for attack.

"Now, before I attack," Makoto started. "I pay one gauge to activate Avira's skill."

Right on cue, a card from the gauge flew towards Avira's staff, powering it up.

"When one gauge is paid, she is able to add one critical point to a monster with the Program attribute."

"Only one?" Byakuya scoffed. "You must not think highly of your cards to use such a cheap trick."

Makoto let out a rare smirk. "We'll see. Avira, power up Ifrit!"

Avira nodded as she pointed her staff towards Ifrit, sending a stream of data to her, increasing her critical to four.

"Okay Spyware, attack Pandora!"

Spyware leaped up into the air and fired at the demonic treasure box, destroying it. But to Makoto's surprise, Byakuya smirked.

"You just triggered Pandora's effect," he explained. "Whenever it has been destroyed in battle, we play a little game."

"You mean rock-paper-scissors, right?" Makoto asked. "Whoever loses takes one damage, and if it's a tie, we both take one damage."

"That's correct. Honestly, I'm surprised you even knew about that."

"You're not the first Dungeon World fighter I've come across."

Byakuya's smirk grew. "Then in that case, I won't be the first Dungeon fighter you've lost to. Now prepare yourself."

Both of them got into position, ready to choose their weapon.

"Rock..."

"Paper..."

"SCISSORS!"

 _ **Makoto: Paper**_

 _ **Byakuya: Scissors**_

"Rats... I lost," Makoto groaned as a bomb was thrown to him, quickly exploding in his face.

 _ **Makoto's Life: 5**_

"That was unpleasant," Slash grumbled, fanning the smoke away with his hand. "You alright there, Makoto?"

"Yeah," he coughed out. "I'm not out yet, am I? I still have my other monsters. I can still win this. Avira, attack the fighter!"

Avira glared at Byakuya while she charged her staff, and shot out a stream of data. But before it could even hit him...

"I cast Divine Protection of Shalsana."

The image of a woman appeared in front of him, blocking the attack.

"And since this card stopped your feeble attack, I gain one life."

 _ **Byakuya's Life: 8**_

 _ **Byakuya's Gauge: 4**_

"Well, good thing I have one more monster," Makoto said with confidence. "Ifrit, attack!"

Ifrit let out a battle cry and jumped towards Byakuya, who shot more balls of fire towards him.

"Argh!"

 _ **Byakuya's Life: 5**_

Byakuya staggered a little due to the attack he just received, feeling the additional boost. He managed to regain his bearings and adjusted his glasses, glaring at Makoto.

"He's close to losing now," Slash said, growing a wide smirk. "Just keep hitting him hard and he's sure to fall off of that high horse he loves so much."

 _ **Makoto: End of Move**_

Byakuya grit his teeth and clenched his cane tightly. There was no way that his boy was close to beating him. He was playing with a world that he has never even heard of before, and he's brought him to the brink of defeat.

"This is unacceptable," he muttered. "How can this commoner play so well? I won't let this stand."

 _ **Byakuya: Your Move**_

Byakuya drew a card, added it to his gauge and drew another. All while glaring at Makoto.

"It's time that I dealt with you once and for all," he growled. "I am going to make sure you never pick up a card for as long as you live when I summon this grand being!"

"Grand being? What the hell is he going on about?" Slash muttered.

Byakuya picked a card from his current hand and grinned darkly. "Finally, a card that will ensure you never forget your place. Because honestly, someone so unremarkable, so uninteresting, so dull as you have no right to exist!"

He raised the selected card up into the air, as dark clouds began to form.

"I call to the right, Guardian Dragon of the Ruins, Meteor Rain!"

A pillar of fire appeared on the right, and from it, a large, red and gold dragon stood, giving a menacing glare towards Makoto before letting out a roar so loud, it shook the earth.

 _ **Guardian Dragon of the Ruins, Meteor Rain**_

 _ **Size: 3**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 10000**_

 _ **Critical: 3**_

 _ **Defense: 4000**_

 _ **World: Dungeon World**_

 _ **Attribute: Dungeon Enemy / Dungeon Master**_

"Then, I add two cards to his soul... Is what I would say, but I have no need for it, because I happen to favor his other unique ability."

"What's that?" Makoto asked, fearing the answer.

"Once I discard two Dungeon Enemy cards from my hand, I can destroy one of your monsters. And I choose... Spyware Dragon."

Meteor Rain let out yet another earth-shaking roar, only this time, it caused meteors to fall from the sky and strike down Spyware with ruthless force.

"No!" Makoto cried out.

Byakuya paid no mind to the dragon's destruction and focused on his next target. "Doberman, take out that mage immediately."

The armored dog charged towards Avira and slashed her in half, destroying her.

"I attack again with Alcsbane."

Once more, the heir charged towards Makoto and stabbed him with his spear.

 _ **Makoto's Life: 3**_

"And now, to finally end this farce," he turned to the large dragon beside him. "Meteor Rain. You know what must be done."

The dragon flapped its large wings, creating large gusts of wind that nearly blew the crowd away.

"Wow!"

"He's gonna attack with that dragon!?"

"The kid's done for! No way he can survive that!"

Makoto was deaf to the crowd's reactions as he saw the dragon slowly flying towards him. When it reached the center of the field, it stopped and opened it's mouth, creating a large ball of fire.

"This is it! This! Is! It!"

"That kid's gonna be roasted!"

"Here it comes!"

The dragon shot the fire ball towards him, with every intent of burning him to ashes.

"Looks like's all over," Byakuya said, adjusting his glasses. He prepared to walk away, as if he was already bored. Until...

"I cast...!"

He swiftly turned around at the sound of Makoto's voice, filled to the brim with determination as held a card.

"Code 400, Bad Request!"

As the ball of fire reached ever so close to Makoto, a purple wall appeared with the words "error" strewn across it. The moment the fireball touched the wall, it disappeared completely.

"H-How is this possible?" Byakuya gasped in shock. "You should have been defeated. My dragon should have defeated you completely!"

"Well, I have my spell to thank for that," Makoto replied. "Code 400, Bad Request can be only be activated if I pay two of my gauge and have 3 life points or below." He then smiled. "Lucky for me, it was one of the first cards I had in my hand."

Byakuya's eyebrow twitched from hearing the news. "Luck? Are you trying to piss me off? You had that card the entire time, waiting for the right moment to play it, and you have the gall to call it luck?"

"Uh... yeah."

Byakuya grit his teeth, slowly breathing in a menacing fashion.

 _ **Byakuya: End of Move**_

"Hey, play me next," Slash said eagerly.

"You want to step in?" Makoto asked.

Slash nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I wanna be the one who puts the nail into that prick's coffin.

"Hmm..."

"Come on, man," he pleaded. "Let me do it. Put me in the ring."

Makoto thought for a moment, and made his decision.

"Sure. I'll put you in, Slash."

His eyes widened. "You mean it?"

Makoto nodded. "Yeah. It's high time we put an end to this."

 _ **Makoto: Your Move**_

"Draw! Charge and draw!"

 _ **Makoto's Gauge: 4**_

"For my first move, I Buddy Call to the center, Virus Hunter, Slash."

As soon as his name was brought up, Slash slammed the flag into the ground, then jumped into the air in a spectacular fashion, all while doing a backwards somersault before landing on the ground, materializing his knives in his hands.

"Alright! Whoever's ready to die, step forward!"

 _ **Virus Hunter, Slash**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 4000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 3000**_

 _ **Attribute: Program**_

"With his appearance, I gain a life point with Buddy Gift."

 _ **Makoto's Life: 4**_

"Hey, Byakuya. There's something I've been meaning to ask you."

"And what would that be?"

"Don't you have a buddy monster? If you had one, you could have regained your life, even by a little bit."

Byakuya scoffed. "Don't insult me. My skills are so great, I could win a fight without one."

"Really? If you ask me, your life points don't seem to share your sentiment."

Byakuya opened his mouth to protest, but Makoto continued.

"Also, if you hadn't equipped that staff you have there, you could have played Meteor Rain to the center to protect your life points. And if you did, you could have utilized its Soulguard ability. That way, you would've won for sure."

Byakuya couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was so sure that he could defeat Makoto... and yet, he explained in full detail that all of his moves were his undoing. All because he underestimated him.

"Well, no sense leaving the crowd waiting. Time to wrap this up. Ifrit, attack Byakuya."

Once again, the demon-like girl shot a barrage of fire balls at the heir, nearly burning him.

"Agh!"

 _ **Byakuya's Life: 1**_

"And now... Slash," he said, smiling. "Care to do the honors?"

Slash turned around with a big grin. "You know it, _compadre._ "

"Then finish him off!"

Slash turned to Byakuya, growing an ever-sadistic grin as he prepared to charge him. He spread his feet apart, gripped his knives tightly and eyed his target like a wolf stalking his prey. He finally dashed towards Byakuya, jumped up and raised his knives above his head, with full intent to make like his name and... well, slash him.

"ARGGGGH!"

And slash he did. Byakuya felt the full impact of the attack, gripping the spot where he was struck as he staggered backwards before falling flat on his back.

 _ **Final Results**_

 _ **Makoto – Life: 4**_

 _ **Byakuya – Life: 0**_

 _ **Game Over**_

 _ **Winner: Makoto Naegi**_

Makoto was speechless as he heard those words. He had won. He won a Buddyfight with a world he had just heard of. To say he was in shock would be nothing short of an understatement.

"I... I won?"

The crowd went into an uproar upon witnessing his victory first hand. There were cheers and compliments all around, and for some reason, there were flowers as well.

"I really won, didn't I?"

Makoto felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see a uniformed man with tanned skin, green hair and pink eyes standing near him.

"Yeah, you won," he said. "But don't cocky just 'cause you did. Sure you might win a couple of times, but losing helps you grow as well. Don't forget that."

"I know that much," Makoto said. "I lost more than few fights myself."

The man turned him and blinked in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh... Well, I guess that little speech was all for nothing."

Makoto shook his head. "No, I think it was inspiring."

"You think so?"

Makoto smiled. "I know so."

The man smirked. "You're an odd one, kid. Don't change one bit." He turned his attention to the crowd. "Alright people, fight's over! Get your asses to your classrooms before I drag you there myself!"

The crowd quickly dispersed under the man's intimidating gaze.

"Hey kid," he said, turning back to Makoto. "You better get to your classroom as well."

"I would, but I don't know where it is," Makoto said.

"Really?" The man reached into his back pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. "What's your name, kid?"

"Makoto Naegi."

"Alright, then. Naegi, Naegi... ah, here we go. You're in Class 78, the bottom floor of the main building."

"78?" Slash said, appearing between the two. "Hey, that's the same number of people I've fought against. What are the odds?"

"Where did you come from?" Makoto said in surprise.

"Not important. Now let's go check out this class you're in." Slash turned to the man. "It was nice meeting you..." He looked close at his nametag. "Juzo. Alright, let's go, Makoto."

Slash carried Makoto over his shoulder and dashed off, despite the younger boy's protests. Juzo watched in amusement as he was carried away.

"Heh, never thought he could win that one," he muttered. He turned to Byakuya, who still laid on the ground. "Better pick him up before he catches a cold."

* * *

Makoto and Slash stood outside of the classroom door. The sign above said "#78", so it had to be the class he was in. By all rights, Makoto was so nervous that he was shivering and sweating uncontrollably.

"So... you ready Makoto?" Slash asked.

Makoto swallowed a nervous lump in his throat and nodded. "Y-Yeah. I'm ready."

Slash raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Doesn't sound like it."

"What do you mean?"

Slash let out a sigh. "I mean, you look like you're gonna faint any time now."

Makoto chuckled awkwardly. "Really? I didn't notice."

"You're shaking like a leaf and you're sweating like a pig," Slash said flatly.

"I... didn't notice until now."

Slash faceplamed. "Makoto... you've been doing it on our way here. Get your nerves under control and let's go. No sense waiting around here."

"Uh... okay."

Makoto opened the door and walked in, when all of a sudden...

"HYAH!"

"AH!"

He swiftly ducked a sword swing directed at him. Slash quickly entered and saw the attacker. A man with short black hair and light grey eyes wearing what appeared to be armor from the Edo period.

"What's your deal, man?" Slash growled as he branished his knives. "Why did you have to do that?"

"I only intended to see his reaction to my attack," the man stated bluntly. "Had he been a second late, his head would surely have been lost."

"Oh, is that right?" Slash pointed his knives to the man. "Then how would you like to lose your head?"

The man smirked as he raised his sword. "Bold words from a child. I doubt you would match for me at all."

"Then we'll just have to see about that."

"We shall."

Both of them stared intently at each other, as if they were attempting to read each other's moves. Slash gripped his knives while the man positioned his sword to strike. And Makoto? He stood to the side as he watched the tense standoff.

"Hey, Toyo," a familiar voice called out. "Cut that shit out already, will ya?"

All three of them turned to none other than Leon, who was sitting at a desk in the back with an annoyed expression.

"Leon, this is not the time," the man protested. "I need to see if this boy has any potential."

"Well, you're not gonna find it by chopping his head off. And besides, if you actually do that, I'm gonna get canned for it. I'm responsible for you, remember?"

"Don't speak as if I'm some sort of pet," the man growled.

Upon see him, Makoto shoved past him and walked over to where Leon was sitting.

"Leon, was it?" he asked.

"Yeah, that's me. Looks like we're in the same class here." Leon looked over his shoulder to see Slash. "What's that guy doing with you?"

Makoto scratched that back of his head. "Well... he's my buddy now."

Leon's eyes widen in surprise. "G-Get outta here. He's your buddy?"

"Damn straight," Slash answered with pride. "Even more, he won his first fight using the world I'm from."

The news was too much. Leon jumped out his desk and rushed towards Slash with stars in his eyes.

"You've gotta be freakin' kidding me! That's awesome! Who did you fight against?"

"Eh, just some rich bastard. No big deal." He looked towards the man beside him. "Is this guy your buddy?"

"Yup?" Leon patted his back. "This bad boy right here is Dragon Knight, Shimazu Toyohisa."

"Wait... I've heard that name before," Makoto said, walking towards him. "You fought in the battle of Sekigahara, right?"

Toyohisa grinned as he hit Makoto's back hard, causing him to stumble. "I'm surprised you know that. Nowadays, almost nobody has talked about my exploits."

"Well duh," Slash said smugly. "Who'd want to hear about some dead man from the past in this day in age?"

Makoto swiftly turned to his new-found buddy in shock. "Slash, I don't think you should-"

"INSOLENT BRAT!" Toyohisa screamed as he raised his sword to strike. Had it not for Leon restraining him, Slash would be cut in half.

"Come on, Toyo! Cool it! He didn't mean anything by it!"

"HE MUST PAY FOR HIS DISRESPECT!"

As Leon squabbled with his buddy on the subject of killing Slash, Makoto looked around to see that nobody else was present in the room.

"Um... where's everyone else?" he asked.

"You didn't know?" Leon said, still restraining Toyohisa. "From what I heard, attendance at Hope's Peak isn't mandatory, so long as you're focusing on your talent."

"Oh."

"That reminds me. What's your talent?"

Makoto chuckled awkwardly. "I... don't have one."

Surprisingly, Toyohisa stopped thrashing about upon hearing those words.

"What was that, boy? You have no talent?"

"No."

"Then how, pray tell, did you get into this school?"

"Yeah, don't leave us hanging," Leon said, wanting to know.

"My name was selected in a random draw."

Both Leon and Toyohisa stood in shocked silence.

"A... a random draw, you say?"

Makoto nodded.

"I see." Toyohisa sheathed his sword, much to Leon's relief. "Well, whether you have talent or not is of little matter to me. So long as you treat my ally here as an equal, I see no reason to quarrel with you." He then turned to Slash with a harsh glare. "However, should _he_ let his tongue slip once more, I will personally see to it that it is swiftly removed."

Slash waved dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, throw out all the empty threats you want. I don't care."

Leon stepped in front of Toyohisa before he could do anything further. "So Makoto, how about we take a little walk around?"

"Really? Where to?" Makoto asked.

Leon smirked. "To find our classmates, of course!"

* * *

 **KS: Man... that was tiring. It didn't help that I was sidetracked by my college work as well. Anyway, I'm glad I got this done with. I hope you enjoyed it. Oh, and one more thing. For those who have seen Buddyfight before and are somewhat familiar with it, I would really like to hear your suggestions on what worlds the other characters fight for and what their Core Gadgets should be. Keep in mind, I have some ideas, but I'm open to your suggestions.**

* * *

 **Preview of Next Chapter**

Slash: So, who's this lovely lady?

Sayaka: I'm Sayaka Maizono.

Slash: Sayaka? Wow, a pretty name for a pretty girl. Now I see why Makoto likes you.

Sayaka: Huh?

Slash: Yeah, he has told me a lot of great things about you. In fact-

Makoto: Slash, no!

Slash: But I haven't even told her about that dream you had-

Makoto: DON'T!

 **To be continued in Chapter 3: Meeting the Classmates**


	4. Chapter 3: Meeting the Classmates

**KS: I am so excited to present this chapter to you fine people. Why? Because I finally found a song to open it with. It's exciting because I have never added a song as in intro in a fanfic before, so this will be a whole new experience for me. I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

"Alright, you've been around the school for a while, so you must have a good idea of the layout, right?" Leon asked.

"Well, not really," Makoto admitted sheepishly. "I only got around to most of it. I would've explored a bit more, but..." He snuck a sideways glance towards Slash, who was exchanging a heated glare towards Toyohisa. "A lot happened today."

Leon patted him on the back. "Better late than never as they say. Why don't we check outside and see if our fellow classmates are there?"

"Sure, I guess."

As the two walked on ahead, Slash and Toyohisa continued their staring contest. If one looked closer, they could see the sparks forming between them.

"I swear, if you do anything unsavory towards my comrade, you will not live to regret it," the samurai growled.

"Spare me your threats, old man," Slash scoffed. "I could kill you with both of my arms tied behind my back. But I'm in a good mood today, so I'll let you live."

Toyohisa scoffed. "You don't like you could kill an insect."

Slash smirked. "I've killed an insect... and others alongside it."

Makoto and Leon sweatdropped at the sound of their buddies bickering at each other.

"They're not gonna be at this all day, are they?" Makoto asked.

Leon chuckled awkwardly. "I hope not."

* * *

( **Theme: "Mighty Long Fall" by ONE OK ROCK** )

( **Intsrumental** ) The screen opens to Makoto standing in a empty landscape, then zooms in on his face, then switches to Slash, who is in a similar landscape, but in all black.

( **When we met, the pain stood still, it was us** ) Cuts to Sayaka standing with her arms behind her back, then to Leon, sitting on the ground, and finally to Mondo, is standing in with his hands in his pockets while Chihiro stands behind him, looking up.

( **Then suddenly it's where you go** ) Cuts to Taka standing while looking down on the ground, then cuts to Celeste standing with her hands pressed together, eyes closed.

( **The system blew, I knew** ) Cuts to Hina laying on the ground and circling it with her finger, then to Sakura, who stands with her arms crossed.

( **This side of me, I want a little more** ) Cuts to Byakuya and Toko standing back to back, the former with his arms crossed and the latter looking down, then to Hiro, who looks at his crystal ball and ends with Hifumi sitting down, holding his sketchboard.

( **But inside it seems, I'm just a little boy** ) Cuts to Kyoko standing with her arms crossed, then the screen glitches out to reveal Junko and Mukuro standing over a button. Junko presses it with a deranged look.

( **Nothing else!** ) The ground beneath Makoto crumbles, causing him to fall into the abyss.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall w** **hen you thought love was the top (Whoa)** ) The scene shifts to Makoto running in the empty landscape, with Slash doing the same in the alternate plane.

( **Oh no, it's a wake up call when your life went into shock (Whoa, whoa)** ) The scene moves to the the others with their respective buddy monsters staring at the crumbling walls.

( **It seems like gravity keeps pulling us back down** ) Rewinds to when Makoto is about to fall, when Slash grabs his hand, saving him.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall when you know time is up** ) Slash pulls Makoto to the edge, where his classmates stand before him. He gives them a smile of determination.

( **Don't go** ) Makoto takes a card from his pocket and raises it in the air.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Scene shifts to members of Ultimate Despair, then to Makoto, who lowers the card to his chest.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Makoto closes his eyes, then the scene shifts to Monokuma, standing behind a purple crystal.

( **Don't go** ) The card glows and covers Makoto, turning him into Excalibur as the screen fades to white.

( **Closing intstrumental** ) The screen stops glowing to reveal the various world flags on the ground.

 **Chapter 3: Meeting the Classmates**

* * *

"Come on... come on, work, damn you."

Within the autoshop area of Hope's Peak was Mondo, who was fixing the starter motor of a chopper with great difficulty. Specifically, he was re-adusting the wiring in the motor which had come undone.

"Why the hell are these things so hard to fix?" he growled.

Beside him was his buddy, Armorknight Dullahan, whom he calls Lala for short.

"Master, I fear this wretched machine has driven you to the point of madness." She materialized her scythe and pointed it towards the chopper. "I shall do away with it, lest it chip away at what little sanity you have remaining."

"For fuck's sake, Lala," Mondo groaned, standing up and pushing her scythe away. "There's nothing wrong with my sanity, I'm just fixing some wires on the motor. And please, for the love of God, quit calling me master."

"As you wish, Master."

Mondo groaned once again and got back to work.

"And this is the school's autobody shop, where the gearheads work on cars and stuff."

"Wow, I had no idea this school had an autoshop."

Mondo stopped working on the motor when he heard voice coming from outside.

"I wonder who's out there," he said.

He stopped working on the motor again and walked out of the garage with Lala trailing close behind him. He saw the small group of people walking towards the garage and immediately recognized one of them.

"Hey, it's you."

Makoto looked around, then pointed to himself. "Are you talking to me?"

"Well, it's kinda hard to miss someone as plain as you."

Makoto sweatdropped. "I... can't deny that."

He glanced at Leon and Toyohisa. "And who are you two supposed to be?"

"I'm Leon Kuwata," the punk replied. "This guy right here is Toyo."

"My full name is Shimazu Toyohisa," the man explained.

Mondo didn't look interested. "Uh-huh, yeah, whatever." He turned to Makoto. "Have I seen you before?"

Makoto grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, we did. A few hours ago, exactly."

"I... I don't follow."

"Master," Lala said. "I believe this is the boy you fought against. You said it was a waste of your time after you vanquished him."

" _Vanqished?_ " Slash thought. " _What decade has that chick been living in where people use that word?_ "

Mondo growled in irritation. "Lala, I didn't 'vanquish' the poor bastard. I curbstomped him in our fight. Actually, I don't know if I could call it a fight. All the poor bastard had in his deck was goddamn generic cards."

"What's wrong with having a deck full of generics?" Makoto asked, slightly defensive.

"It's just boring. Those cards have no personality whatsoever. Whoever thought it would be a good idea add those to the game must have a lack of creativity or something."

Everyone sweatdropped at his answer.

"So, what brings you lot here?"

"Oh, we're just walking around the school to see some of our classmates," Leon answered. "You two are free to join us if you want."

Mondo looked back at the chopper he was working on, then shrugged. "Sure, why not. It's not like I have anything better to do."

He turned to the group again, then looked at Slash.

"By the way, who the hell are you?"

That comment made a tick mark appear on Slash's head. "Seriously? _Now_ you notice me?"

"Don't get mad at him, Slash," Makoto pleaded. "We just started this chapter."

* * *

In another part of the school, specifically the cafeteria, a young girl sat at a table by herself, sipping tea. She has black hair done in twin drill pigtails, pale skin and red eyes. She wears a gothic lolita-style outfit, consisting of a white blouse a black jacket that includes white ribbon lacing down the sleeves, fastened by a simple ribbon across her chest to show her red tie with a butterfly pattern on it and the waist of her skirt, which is many-tiered and features white lace. She also has knee-high stockings trimmed in ladder lace, red mary janes with a thick heel, a white lace headpiece and a silver ring that resembles a claw of sorts on her index finger.

She puts her cup down and sighs. "Honestly, it's such a bore when there is nobody to play a game of poker with." She gives out a small grin. "Good thing I have you around, Valkor."

Sitting across from her was a figure adorned in dark, ominous armor. It was black with red lines and had thorns sticking out of both the pauldrons and greaves. Also, the helmet resembled something akin to a demon's head, complete with horns, ominous eyes and a grin.

"I am most pleased by your praise, Lady Celestia," the armored figure spoke in a deep voice. "Since the day you formed a contract with me, I have dedicated my life to ensuring your comfort in any way possible. I am yours to command."

"That is good to hear. Now, how about a game of blackjack?"

"It would be my honor."

The girl pulled a deck of cards from her sleeve and slid them over to the knight, who immediately shuffled them.

"How long has it been since we've played blackjack, madam?"

"Not for a while now. If I recall, we've played 500 times."

"And you've won every game we've had. Your skills as a gambler are unparalled."

"Blackjack, huh? I've never cared much for gambling to be honest."

Both parties turned to Slash, who was standing near them.

"And who are you supposed to be?" the girl asked.

Slash grinned smugly. "I believe it is proper etiquette for one to introduce themselves first. Unless your fine clothing is just a disguise for your ugly personality. Everybody has has one."

The knight rose from his chair and pulled out a large, curved sword from nowhere. "Watch your tongue when around the mistress before I remove it for you."

Slash looked up to the knight and scoffed. "Well, what do you know? Another large, imtimidating character. Whoop-de-fuckin'-do."

The girl stood up and walked over to the knight, tapping him on his shoulder.

"Please, Valkor," she said softly. "This miscreant is not worth the trouble."

Reluctantly, the knight complied and put away his sword.

"My name is Celestia Ludenburg," the girl introduced herself. "And to right is my servant, Dark Flame Knight, Valkor."

Slash grinned at the knight. "Dark Flame, huh? With the name like that, you must be powerful."

Valkor scoffed. "Like you needed to tell me that. Out of all the Black Knights in Darkness Dragon World, I am the most feared. I crush those who oppose me, slaughter all who defy me and I drink out the skulls of those I vanquished."

Amazed by his boast, Slash blushed heavily and began sweating at a rapid rate, fanning himself with his hand. "Whoa, slow down, dude. You're getting me excited with all that talk. I just hope you're not all talk when I mop the floor with you."

Valkor prepared to bring out his sword once more, but a sharp look from Celestia was enough to stop him.

Slash turned to her. "So, Ms. Ludenburg-"

"Please, no need for formalities. Call me Celeste."

He raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "Okay Celeste, if you don't mind me asking, what are you so good at that this school decided to sniff you out?"

Celeste closed her eyes and smiled. "I am a gambler. A very skilled gambler if I do say so myself. There is nothing I love more than the thrill of putting your life on the line with cards."

"Putting your life on the line?" Slash chuckled. "What, were you playing blackjack while having a gun pointed at your dome or something? 'Cause if you were, that's pretty hardcore."

"Nothing too drastic, I assure you," Celeste replied. "Just a friendly wager, is all."

"Friendly wager? I can imagine."

Soon afterward, Makoto ran into the cafeteria, breathing heavily.

"There... you are... You took off... so fast... I could barely keep up," he said in between pants.

Slash looked at him and frowned. "Jesus, you have no goddamn stamina."

Makoto, in spite of his tiredness, shot him a dirty look. "Give me a break, I had go run across the school just to find you."

"Whatever," the hunter replied with a shrug. "We still gotta find the rest of our classmates, so let's go on."

Before he could say anything, Slash lifted Makoto and carried him over his shoulder. Due to him being tired from dashing around, he was unable to protest or resist. As they walked out of the cafeteria, Celeste grinned in amusement.

"I would like to see what kind of surprises he has in store," she said.

* * *

Outside of the building, two people sat under a large tree. One was a man with dark brown spiky dreadlocks and brown eyes. He wore a small yellow short sleeve shirt, which was over a white rough shirt, which was over a green uniform jacket. He also has a brown haramaki held up with a yellow rope and sandals on his feet. The other was a girl... and that's pretty much it.

...What, were you expecting more details? The girl he's speaking to is nothing more than a background character.

"Alright... In the next eight hours, you're gonna fall down a stairway, but then you'll meet a random stranger that you will fall in love with. Once your eyes meet, you'll never want to leave his side."

The girl stared at him with widened eyes. "Wow... is that true?"

The man grinned widely. "Of course! After all... my predictions are 30% right!"

As soon as she heard that, the girl's face fell. "You know what? I think I'm gonna keep away from stairs from this point forward." She stood up and glared him. "Thanks for nothing, you creep."

She stormed off, leaving him all alone.

"Aw man, I almost had her."

"To be fair, the hook wasn't all the way in. That fish would've escaped no matter how hard you tried to keep it in her."

The man turned around. "Vlad, you are not making me feel any better."

Behind him was a taller, more slender man with pale skin, long white hair and blank eyes with a slight red glow around them. He wore a red long coat with gold outlines, red and pink striped pants and red boots. He had claws on every thumb and finger.

"Well, someone needs to keep you from floating out of the atmosphere," he sighed, placing a claw on his forehead. "Of course, I don't need to remind you about the absurd amount of debt you have accumulated-"

"Damn it, Vladimir!" the man shouted, suddenly standing up. "Why must you always bring that up?!"

"Because I made a promise to your mother that I would do everything I can to keep you out of trouble. And I'm failing at it already."

"You make it sound like I'm a lost cause."

"Well..."

As the two bickered, they didn't notice Makoto and Slash walking up to them.

"Those two seem to be getting along quite well," Slash deadpanned. "Maybe we should leave them for the time being."

Makoto shook his head. "I want to meet with our classmates, Slash. No matter how... eccentric they are, I would like to know them better."

"Can't we just save them for later?" Slash sighed. "I mean, sure you want to see what your classmates are like, but I think you should... just..." he trailed off as he saw Makoto walk ahead of him towards the bickering duo. "And he ignores me and leaves me behind. Fuckin' awesome."

He catches up with Makoto, who had finished introducing himself to the duo.

"I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure," the man introduced himself. "And this freak-"

"I am the Crimson Reaper, Vladimir," the other man interrupted. "I have come on this earth for one thing and one thing only: the pure, scarlet gold that runs through every living thing-"

"Hey, Vlad! Don't interrupt me while I'm talking!"

"You were taking too long! I need to introduce myself as well, you know!"

"Yours was taking way longer!"

The two continued to bicker, even with Makoto standing next to them.

"I get the feeling they're going to be like that for a while," he sighed.

"I've had that feeling since I laid eyes on them," Slash said, walking past Makoto. "Come on, we're losing daylight here."

* * *

Sayaka continued walk through the hallway... okay, to be accurate, she's pacing around while holding her deck case to her chest. She's still nervous about how she's going to express her feeling towards Makoto.

"I... I don't know if I can do it," she muttered.

" **Oh, come on, Saya,** " the voice in her case said. " **You've been bottling up those feelings ever since middle school. You gotta let them out at some point.** "

"But I'm worried that I'll screw it up somehow."

" **You only say that because you're on edge. You've been through plenty of concerts and managed to swallow whatever hesitation you had before. So why are you choking when it comes to announcing your love for the herbivore?** "

Sayaka's face turned bright red. "W-Why do you have to be so blunt about it?! Can't you be more subtle whenever you talk about me and my feelings toward-"

"Hey, Sayaka! I was looking for you!"

She jumped in surprise when she heard the voice of her longtime friend from behind. She quickly turned around and hid her case behind her back.

"Oh, Makoto... nice to meet you," she said, quickly regaining her composure.

Makoto was about to reply, but then out of nowhere, Slash appeared and started inspecting Sayaka from head to toe, making her a little uncomfortable.

"So... who's this lovely lady?" he asked.

"I'm... I'm Sayaka Maizono."

Slash's eyes widened in surprise, then smirked. "Sayaka? Wow, a pretty name for a pretty girl. Now I see why Makoto likes you."

Sayaka tilted her head. "Huh?"

In an instant, Slash was at Makoto's side and put his arm around him as the latter started to blush.

"Yeah, he has told me a lot of great things about you. In fact-"

"Slash, no!" Makoto interrupted, putting his hand over his mouth. Slash was able to take it off.

"But I haven't even told her about that dream you had-"

"DON'T!"

To their surprise, laughter was heard.

" **Oh, poor innocent Makoto. Just like how I remember.** "

Without any indication of a warning, a ball of light appeared from Sayaka's case and floated towards the duo. Soon, the ball exploded, causing a flash to flood the hall. Everyone covered their eyes for protection.

"Sometimes I wonder if you're a man or a mouse."

When the flash subsided, Makoto opened his eyes to see a tall, beautiful woman with short, purple hair and light purple eyes. She wore a very revealing outfit, showing off a fair amount of skin around the torso, four belts around her waist, black thighhighs and gold boots.

"LeBlanc... it's a been a while."

The woman leaned down and patted Makoto on the head. "Still haven't changed a bit, have you? Makes me wonder what Sayaka sees in you."

Sayaka pulled her by her hair, moving her away from Makoto.

"Ow! What the hell, Sayaka?!"

"You're always doing this to me!" she hissed. "Why can't you just mind your own business for once?"

LeBlanc struggled as her buddy pulled her hair. "Your business is my business, and it's definitely my business when you find yourself attracted to a boy who acts like he was born without a pair!"

Slash turned to Makoto in confusion. "Wait... you were born without a pair?"

Makoto was flustered beyond belief. "T-That's not what you think it means, Slash!"

The hunter let out a huff. "I hope not, 'cause I would hate to be paired up with a eunuch."

He walked off with his hands behind his head. Makoto let out a heavy sigh as he followed him.

"I get the feeling this is going to be a hard road to walk on."

As the two walked off, Sayaka watched in dismay as her crush moved further away from her. She was so discouraged that she let go of LeBlanc's hair.

"Makoto..."

LeBlanc turned away in shame, wondering if she had gone a little too far.

* * *

Surprisingly, the school also had a dojo. A wide open space with cherry blossom pedals falling slowly towards the ground. Sitting in the center was Sakura, who was in a deep meditative trance. She sat in a lotus position with her arms crossed and her eyes closed. Being a fighter, she had to be in the right state of mind. Nothing good can come from fighing when one's mind is distrought.

"Hey, isn't that the chick you walked into?"

And there was very little good that came from hearing that same disrespectful voice she heard an hour earlier.

"Slash, I don't think we should disturb her. She looks very focused."

"I'm aware, damn it. No way am I gonna distrurb a sleeping giant. I mean, look at her. She looks like she could throw some poor bastard over a long distance with only a finger."

Sakura did not like the generalization he made, but she paid it no mind.

"I really doubt she's able to do that. Let's just go."

A groan was heard. "Fine, then. Lead the way."

She heard the two leave the dojo. Once they did, she let out a sigh of frustration.

"I pray that he does not do anything unsavory during his time here," she mused.

* * *

Of course, there were some more... obscure parts of Hope's Peak that no one goes to often. Like the computer lab. There was no one present there aside from a small girl typing away on a laptop. She had short light brown hair and eyes matching the same color. She wore long-sleeved dark green jacket, a white shirt with a large collar secured with a thin dark ribbon, suspenders, a box-pleated brown mid-thigh length brown skirt, knee-high black socks, and white, ribboned mary janes.

"I hope I can complete this soon," she said as she continued typing. "I just need to work out the bugs and everything will be perfect."

She stopped typing and stretched out her arms.

"Mmm... I'm getting cramped just sitting here. I should take a short walk to loosen up."

She moved from the desk she was sitting at and head towards the door. But when she did...

"So this place has a computer lab, huh? That is something I have got to check out."

She heard talking from the other side. Curious, reached for the handle, only for the door to swiftly open, nearly knocking her away. She backed up to avoid the swinging door, but fell down in the process.

"Aw damn, sorry about that. You alright, kid?"

Recovering from her fall, she looked up to see Slash kneeling in front of her, extending his hand toward her.

"I'm Slash. What's your name?"

Slightly dazed, she grasped his hand, allowing him to help her up.

"I'm Chihiro Fujisaki," she said.

Slash grinned. "Chihiro. What a cute name for a cute little thing like you." He ruffled her hair, causing her to blush a little. "So, what skill do you have?"

Chihiro looked away and pressed her fingers together. "Well, I develop advanced software for computers... nothing special, to be honest."

Slash stared at her a for a few seconds, then scoffed. "Nothing special? Are you kidding me? That has got to be the most awesome thing I heard."

Chihiro looked at him in surprise. "Really?"

Slash grinned. "Hell yeah, really. I might not look it, but I'm actually a program myself."

"Y-You're a program?" Chihiro asked in shock. "But... you look so human."

"Well, I'm not exactly of this world, so to speak. I'm a monster from Virtual World."

"Virtual World?" Chihiro looked away and thought for a minute. "I've never heard of that world before."

"Then you better to know it. Seriously, where I'm from, we have technology that goes beyond anything you humans have, no joke." He looked over to the laptop on the desk. "Is that yours?"

"Hmm?" Chihiro turned to where he was was looking, which was her laptop. "Oh, yeah, that's mine. What about it?"

Slash moved passed her and went up the laptop. There, he saw many windows with codes on them.

"Wow, this is a fine piece of work," he complimented. "I can see that you've been working hard at it."

"You really think so?" Chihiro asked, walking to where he sat.

Slash chuckled. "Trust me, I know good programming when I see it. Now, how about you show me what you're capable of."

Suddenly, Chihiro got stars in her eyes. "Okay then!"

* * *

Elsewhere, Makoto panted heavily as he dragged himself along the wall.

"Either he's too fast or I'm just to slow," he groaned. "Maybe I made a mistake in making him my buddy."

As he trudged along the wall, a girl stared at him from a fair distance from where he was.

"Hmm... he has absolutely no stamina," she said bluntly.

* * *

 **KS: Alright, then. I'm going to introduce the rest of Makoto's classmates in the next chapter. When? Maybe after I update all of my other stuff. If you have any thoughts about the song I used for the intro, let me know. Also, this goes without saying, but I had to pull some characters from other series to make this crossover. Toyohisa, Lala, Vladimir and LeBlanc are from their own franchises, but Valkor is completely original. Let me know what you think about that. Good night, all.**

* * *

 **Preview of Next Chapter**

Slash: So Makoto, you met with all of your classmates and seen all of their buddy monsters... well, some of them.

Makoto: What are you getting at?

Slash: What I'm getting at is this: do you think that you can match up to them in a fight?

Makoto: Why are you asking me this?

Slash: Just felt like it.

 **To be continued in Chapter 4: We All Have That One Character**


	5. Chapter 4: That One Character

**KS: What it do, everybody? It's your boy KnightSpark, back at it again with more DR. Wait... does that stand for Dangan Ronpa or Despair Revolt? Wow, I didn't notice up until now. Anyway, I'm pleased to see that this fic has gotten some attention. However, one commenter from the last chapter suggested that I specify which franchise I take the characters from. And frankly, the reason I even do this is for you good people, so what kind of writer would I be if I ignored a request like that?**

 **Anyway, first is the most obvious, the one you saw in the first chapter. Lala is originally from Monster Musume, or MonMusu for short. Next is Toyohisa from the manga Drifters. Keep in mind this is not the Toyohisa from Samurai Warriors. Finally, we have LeBlanc and Vladimir from League of Legends. There will be other characters in this chapter, but I'll let you see them for yourselves before I reveal where they're from. Now, enjoy.**

* * *

After a while, Makoto finally managed to catch up with Slash, who was standing in the hallway with Chihiro.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up," the hunter said teasingly. "Did you throw up while you were racing around in the building to find me? Because you look like you're gonna hurl at any moment."

Makoto was unable to respond to that crack due him regaining his breath, sweating uncontrolably.

"Oh, I almost forgot," Slash said in realization. "The unatheletic fellow hunched in front of us right now is my new buddy, Makoto Naegi."

Makoto raised his head, which had sweat dripping from every part of it, including his ahoge. "Nice... to meet... you."

Chihiro smiled. "It's nice to meet you too."

"Right then!" Slash lifted the two over his shoulders. "Time to go to our next destination."

"Wait, what do you meaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!"

Makoto's words trailed off as Slash dashed to wherever his feet would take him.

* * *

( **Theme: "Mighty Long Fall" by ONE OK ROCK** )

( **Intsrumental** ) The screen opens to Makoto standing in a empty landscape, then zooms in on his face, then switches to Slash, who is in a similar landscape, but in all black.

( **When we met, the pain stood still, it was us** ) Cuts to Sayaka standing with her arms behind her back, then to Leon, sitting on the ground, and finally to Mondo, is standing in with his hands in his pockets while Chihiro stands behind him, looking up.

( **Then suddenly it's where you go** ) Cuts to Taka standing while looking down on the ground, then cuts to Celeste standing with her hands pressed together, eyes closed.

( **The system blew, I knew** ) Cuts to Hina laying on the ground and circling it with her finger, then to Sakura, who stands with her arms crossed.

( **This side of me, I want a little more** ) Cuts to Byakuya and Toko standing back to back, the former with his arms crossed and the latter looking down, then to Hiro, who looks at his crystal ball and ends with Hifumi sitting down, holding his sketchboard.

( **But inside it seems, I'm just a little boy** ) Cuts to Kyoko standing with her arms crossed, then the screen glitches out to reveal Junko and Mukuro standing over a button. Junko presses it with a deranged look.

( **Nothing else!** ) The ground beneath Makoto crumbles, causing him to fall into the abyss.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall w** **hen you thought love was the top (Whoa)** ) The scene shifts to Makoto running in the empty landscape, with Slash doing the same in the alternate plane.

( **Oh no, it's a wake up call when your life went into shock (Whoa, whoa)** ) The scene moves to the the others with their respective buddy monsters staring at the crumbling walls.

( **It seems like gravity keeps pulling us back down** ) Rewinds to when Makoto is about to fall, when Slash grabs his hand, saving him.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall when you know time is up** ) Slash pulls Makoto to the edge, where his classmates stand before him. He gives them a smile of determination.

( **Don't go** ) Makoto takes a card from his pocket and raises it in the air.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Scene shifts to members of Ultimate Despair, then to Makoto, who lowers the card to his chest.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Makoto closes his eyes, then the scene shifts to Monokuma, standing behind a purple crystal.

( **Don't go** ) The card glows and covers Makoto, turning him into Excalibur as the screen fades to white.

( **Closing intstrumental** ) The screen stops glowing to reveal the various world flags on the ground.

 **Chapter** **4: We All Have That One Character**

* * *

"Damn... this is a nice pool."

His feet brought him to the pool, which was basically Olympic-sized. There were bleachers, a lifeguard stand and a few lockers standing on the side.

"I have to admit, this pool looks good," Makoto said. "I would like to take a swim here."

"Me too," Chihiro added, although she blushed a little. "But... I'm not sure if I should be seen in a swimsuit."

Slash scoffed. "What? Come on, don't be like that. You're cute, Chihiro. Like... like an SD card."

Everyone was silent for a few minutes. The only sound that occured was wind. After a few more minutes, Slash released a heavy sigh and slumped his shoulders.

"Yeah, that was not a good comparison."

"It really wasn't," Makoto agreed.

The sound of water splashing gained everyone's attention. They turned to the pool to see a girl with chocolate skin, blue eyes and brown hair emerge from the pool. Upon seeing the trio, she waved and smiled.

"Hi there!" she said cheerfully. "Are you here for a swim as well."

Makoto shook his head. "No, we're just looking around the school. We might think about taking a swim here, though."

They introduced themselves to the girl, and so she decided to do the same.

"My name is Aoi Asahina, But you can call me Hina for short," she said.

"Okay," Slash said, bringing his hands together. "Now that we've got introductions out of the way, why don't you tell us a bit about yourself, Hina."

"Hmm... well, I'm a great swimmer, which is the whole reason I'm here right now. And I really like donuts."

Slash raised an eyebrow. "That's it? You're great at swimming and you like donuts?"

Hina pouted. "What else were you expecting, my dating profile?"

"Nothing like that, I assure you," the hunter replied while fighting a smirk, much to her chagrin.

Makoto could see the tension rising just a bit, so he decided to defuse it a little by changing the topic.

"Hey Hina, if you don't mind me asking, do you play Buddyfight?"

Her eyes widened and a smile graced her features. "I love to play Buddyfight! My favorite world to use is Legend World because there are a lot of mythical creatures there. I happen to have one as a buddy!"

"Oh really? Where is... your... buddy?"

He trailed off when he noticed a figure approach Hina from behind in the water. A green, scaly patch that continued to trail closer without her knowing.

"Um, are you okay?" she asked. "You both look kind of pale."

Slash lightly nudged Makoto's arm. "Makoto, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" he whispered.

"If I didn't I wouldn't be whispering right now," he replied in the same volume.

Chihiro was unable to speak or even whisper, fearing for Hina's safety.

"Hey, what's up with you three?" Hina asked with concern. "If there's there's a problem, you should let me-"

She was interrupted by something poking her back. She turned around to see the scales lightly poking her. She turned to the others and quickly realized the reason for their expressions.

"Oh, now I get it," she said. "Don't worry, I know how to handle this."

They were confused for a moment, but before they could ask what was going on, Hina raised her hand, clenched it into a fist and slammed it on the scales, causing them to wince in pain.

"What the- did those scales make a sound?" Slash asked in surprised.

"I-I don't think it was the scales themselves," Chihiro said. "But maybe whoever... or whatever owns them."

The scales emerge from the water, revealing themselves to be a large anthromorphic crocodile. It rubbed its head on the spot Hina struck him.

"Ow... was that really neccessary, Hina?"

She crossed her arms and glared at him. "If you're going to make a habit of scaring everyone you meet, then yes."

The crocodile sighed. "It's not intentional. I just closed my eyes for a few minutes. I didn't think it would cause that much trouble."

Hina sighed. "We'll talk about this later, Sobek. Right now, let's get out, dry ourselves off and introduce you to those nice people over there before they start getting ideas."

"Yeah, I suppose that's reasonable."

* * *

Both Hina and the crocodile got themselves dried up and fully clothed. Hina wore a tracksuit and shorts, while the crocodile wore Egyptian styled bracers, a blue belt with buckle in the shape of a scarab and a white loincloth. Also, for some reason, he had hair on his head.

"This is my buddy, Sobek," Hina said. "He might look scary at first, but he's a softie at heart."

The crocodile raised his hand and chuckled sheeply. "I'm Sobek. Sorry about earlier. I didn't mean any harm."

Everyone stared at Sobek for a few minutes. He couldn't help but feel a tad uncomfortable.

"Uh... why is everyone looking at me like that?" he asked.

"Because you're a big ass reptile and you've got hair," Slash blurted out. Makoto and Chihiro fell to the ground in shock at his abrasiveness.

"You mean to say you just noticed I have hair?" Sobek asked distainfully.

"Well, I noticed it for a while to be honest," Slash replied. "And I still don't get how an animal has an honest-to-goodness hairstyle on his dome." He looked at the hair with narrowed eyes. "Unless that's some kind of weave you've got on."

"A weave?" Sobek growled. "I will have you know this hair of mine is real."

"Then you won't mind if I pull on it for a while?"

"Why you..."

As the two of them began to argue, Hina sighed and crossed her arms.

"Honestly... boys are all the same."

* * *

In a secluded part of the school, a small group of students huddled together, exchanging what appeared to be illicit magazines.

"This is the latest model," one of them said. "I tell you, her jugs are as big as her head."

"Shut up, man," the second chided. "Boobs aren't always everything. Sometimes, you gotta check out the ass first."

"Jeez, you two idiots," the third scoffed. "It's the thighs, man. Soft, smooth and liable to crush your head if you're not careful. But damn it, wouldn't that be a way to go."

"That kind of thinking will only get you in trouble."

All three of them turn to the source of the voice, which was none other than Kiyotaka with his arms crossed.

"Damn it, not this prick again," the first student grumbled, pocketing his magazine.

"You all should know that any inappropriate material is not permitted at Hope's Peak," Kiyotaka said in a stern manner.

The students looked to each other, then to Kiyotaka, and laughed, much to his confusion.

"Oh, so we brought in some mags that you don't like and you're gonna break our chops about it?" the second sneered.

"Sure looks that way to me," the third teased. "We just wanted to read some mags we enjoy. There's no harm in that."

"There's plenty harm when those 'mags' present women in such an unseemly manner."

Surprised by the new voice, the students turn around and nearly fainted. Standing before them was a humanoid dragon with red scales and sharp green eyes. He wore blue and gold armor from head to toe and was in possession of a sword and shield. He looked down at the students with a sharp glare.

"Now you lads shut your mouths and open your ears for a moment," he said. "Right this minute, you will relinquish whatever sorid material you have to my this instant, or I will beat you to an inch of your miserable, contemptable, hormone-driven lives."

The students looked fearful for their lives as they frantically handed over any magazines they had to the dragon right before running off. He let out a light chuckle.

"I swear, young boys will never change when it comes to fantasizing about the female figure."

He turned to Kiyotaka, who had a tired look on his face.

"What?"

The moral compass let out a heavy sigh. "Why must you always do this, Makhaira? I keep telling you that I have it under control."

The dragon nodded firmly. "Of course you had it under control. I was just make sure those young folk don't continue this nonsense in the near future."

"But there is a fine line between enforcing order and intimidation," Kiyotaka argued. "I don't want you going around and scaring people into submission."

The dragon scoffed. "Please. You can't enforce order without putting fear into others beforehand."

The two continued to argue about how order should be established much to the confusion anyone passing by. They were not encountered by Makoto and Slash.

* * *

The library of the academy wasn't very big, but there still was a lot of books to be had. Toko was at a desk, reading one such book. Seeing how she had her nose in it, it must have been very interesting.

"I can always rely on good old Shakespeare give me inspiration," she said while skimming through a few pages. "I'll have to bring some books for him. He loves the gory and violent details for some reason... I can't bring myself to like it. Too much blood for my liking."

On the subject of violence, Toko was immediately reminded of her first encounter with Slash. She had heard he was found unconscious and heavily injured at the school's main entrance and was immediately brought to the infirmary. Upon seeing him in the bed, she thought that she was some kind of psychopath. And given how he... introduced himself to Kiyotaka, it would appear that her suspicions were right. Slash is a dangerous individual and Makoto was in all kinds of danger being near him.

"So this is where you've been hiding out."

And she jumped out of her seat when she heard the voice of said dangerous individual from behind her. Her heart rate was accelerating like crazy, wondering what he intended to do with her.

"Slash..." She heard Makoto's voice as she hyperventilated.

"What?"

"You're scaring her."

"Hey, I can't exactly help that she's jumpy as hell."

Toko stood up and adjusted her glasses. Upon seeing the face of Slash, she paled.

"Chill out," he sighed. "I'm not gonna kill you or anything."

Toko attempted to glare at him. "Y-You don't expect me to believe that, do you? I haven't forgotten you trying to wring that hall monitor's neck."

Slash groaned. "It was an impulse, alright? I had those knives ever since I was manufactured and I get defensive whenever someone takes them."

"That s-seems unlikely," Toko scoffed. "I bet you j-just want them to cut me up and throw me in the trash..."

As she rambled on, Makoto and Slash exchanged exasperated looks.

"Do you think we should go?"

"We probably should go."

* * *

"YES! I HAVE FINALLY COMPLETED MY WORK OF ART!"

The cry of triumph came from inside the art room, where a rather portly boy with black hair in a sharp, pointed ahoge wearing a white button-down shirt, an orange tie which has a patterned double-headed blue arrow upon it with the smaller arrowhead pointing upwards and the larger arrowhead pointing downwards to the tip of the tie, a pair of dark gray trousers, and white trainers stood holding a sketchbook over his head. Over his shirt is a light grey, unbuttoned cardigan and on his back is an orange backpack.

"Finally, after slaving away for long hours, I have finally completed my doujinshi! Do you think other will enjoy this work, Bedman?"

In front of him was a young man with light purple hair and a red arrow pointing downwards on his forehead. He wears a purple hospital gown and is nailed to what appeared to be a hospital bed at his shoulders by two large bolts.

"What? Why do you think it is ineffecient?"

The boy quickly scanned over his sketchbook, and when he came across a particular page, he gasped in shock.

"Oh my... I never realized that I made an error on this spot!" he let out a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness I have you around, Bedman. I would have made a fool of myself."

The boy in the bed said nothing.

"Hey, what's with the noise in here?

The door opened and Slash walked in with Makoto trailing close behind him. Upon seeing the two, they introduced themselves.

"Pleased to meet both of your aquaintences. I am Hifumi Yamada, but you-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we don't have time for nicknames," Slash interrupted, walking over to the boy in the bed. "So, what's the deal with the vegetable over here?"

"Slash!" Makoto shouted, astonished by his abrasiveness.

"What? He's not moving, his eyes are closed and putting aside the fact that he's basically nailed to this damn bed, I... I'd say his a vegetable."

Makoto could facepalm in response.

"Oh, do not worry," Hifumi said. "He is sleeping to reserve power."

Slash raised an eyebrow. "Power, eh? He must pack a lot of it."

Hifumi grinned. "Oh, he does. In fact-"

Slash pushed Makoto out of the door before Hifumi could say more.

"W-Where are you going?" he called out.

"Can't stay long!" Slash shouted back. "Places to go, people to see!"

* * *

"I don't know why you pushed me out of there," Makoto said as he and Slash walked around the courtyard. "I was fine with talking with him for a bit longer."

"The atmosphere was suffocating," Slash grumbled. "I took one good look at that lard ball I could tell he was some big manga nerd."

"How were you able to find that out by looking at him?" Makoto asked.

The hunter sighed. "Call it a hunch."

They continued to walk around. Unbeknownst to Slash, Makoto stopped in his tracks. The reason for this was because he spotted an alluring sight.

Sitting on a bench was a girl with purple eyes and lavender hair down and with a braid on the side, tied with a black ribbon. Her outfit consists of a dark purple collared jacket over a white blouse and brown tie, along with a black short skirt and heeled knee-high boots. Also, she wore black gloves around her hands.

"Wow... she's beautiful," Makoto whispered.

"Then maybe you should go talk to her."

Makoto jumped in surprised when he heard Slash's voice right beside him.

"H-How long were you standing there?" he asked.

"Long enough to notice that you've been eyeing that chick for a while. Why don't you go talk to her?"

"I don't know," Makoto said with hesitation. "She might think I'm too plain or something."

Slash scoffed. "Oh, don't sell yourself short, Makoto. If you can win in a fight, you can talk to a girl. I mean, you talked to Sayaka before."

"Yeah... but this girl seems different."

"Different how?"

Makoto scratched his head. "Well, she appears unapproachable. Like she doesn't want people to be near her."

Slash looked at the girl, who was reading a book. "Hmm... well, time to test that theory out." He nudged Makoto towards the bench were the girl sat. "Now go get her, tiger."

Makoto was hesitant at first, but decided to walk over to the girl. She didn't appear to notice him, as she was focusing on the book she read. So, he took it upon himself to break the ice.

"Um, hello," he said.

The girl closed the book and turned to him with little emotion. "Can I help you?"

Makoto was taken aback by her blunt response, but continued on with his introduction. "My name is Makoto Naegi."

The girl stared at him for a few moments, then turned her attention back to the book.

"Kyoko Kirigiri," she replied tersely.

Makoto felt he was making progress, so he decided to take it up a notch. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"

"Sure," she said.

He resisted the urge to jump in victory and sat down beside her. He wanted to ask what her talent was, but he didn't want to pry. He felt that she was the type to keep to herself.

Little did he know, this internal decision would benifit him in the long run.

"Hey, Kyoko."

"Hmm?"

"Do you... do you play Buddyfight?"

For some reason, the mention of the name alone made Kyoko slam the book shut and rose from the bench, quickly walking away from Makoto, much to his shock and confusion.

"W-Wait!"

He tried to catch up, but the girl was too fast for him.

"Did I say something to upset her?" he wondered.

Slash walked up beside him and patted him on his shoulder. "Don't worry about it. After all... we all have that one character."

Makoto stared at him blankly. "Did... did you just do a title drop?"

Slash grinned. "Yes, I did."

* * *

"So Makoto," Slash said as he and Makoto walked back to the classroom. "You met with all of your classmates and seen all of their buddy monsters... well, some of them."

Makoto turned to him. "What are you getting at?"

"What I'm getting at is this: do you think that you can match up to them in a fight?"

"Why are you asking me this?"

"Just felt like it."

Makoto thought about it for a second, then came up with his response.

"I won't know what kind of skills they have until I actually fight them." He gave Slash a smile. "But I just know I can beat them."

Slash laughed and hit him on the back. "There we go, that's the spirit I was looking for." He put his arm around his shoulder and continued walking. "You know, I bet the two of us can take anything that stands in our way."

Makoto nodded. "I agree. No matter what we challenge we face, we'll face it head on together."

* * *

Upon on the mountains, two people in winter gear were climbing up the slopes, resisting the harsh winds that opposed them. Both of them had a rope tied around the waists so they wouldn't be seperated.

"Hey! How much farther is this place?"

"I know it's there! Just a bit longer!"

The frigid winds continue to blow. One had to give the due credit for braving the storm. Most would either give up halfway or die trying.

"Are you sure it's around here?"

"Come on! When was the last time I lead you astray?"

"The last time that happened, I was stuck in a snake pit."

"Yeah, that was funny as hell."

The two soon found a cave and immediately went into it. It wasn't completely warm, but it was a lot better than being stranded in the bitter cold.

"So, is this where we'll find it?" the first person asked, removing the hood and goggles from their winter outfit. She was revealed to be a girl with short black hair, blue eyes and freckles on her face.

"Obviously," the second person said, unveiling their gear as well. She also was a girl with blue eyes, but unlike the first, her hair was strawberry blonde done in pigtails. She had a red ribbon on one and a cat-shaped hairclip on the other. "I didn't drag you all the way here just to push you off a cliff."

The black-haired girl sighed. "You've done that to me more than once, Junko."

The girl grinned manically. "And I would do it again. You know how much I get off on your suffering, Mukuro."

Mukuro started to blush at thought of falling from a cliff and crashing to the ground. Kind of messed up, once you think about it.

"Aw, you're blushing," Junko cooed before bringing her sister in for a sloppy, incestious kiss. Both of them swirled their tongues around while groping each other. When they seperated, Junko moved her her neck and licked it before biting down, Mukuro moaned loudly as she gripped her shoulders.

"Junko, we... we need to keep going- ah!"

The blonde pinched her butt to silence her. "Don't worry, sis. We've got some time to kill. And once we get what we came for..."

She grinned again, but with a dark expression.

"We'll kill anyone who stands in our way."

* * *

 **KS: Wow, would you look it that? This chapter ends with Makoto meeting his classmates and the appearance of the Despair Sisters. What exactly do they plan on doing? Well, you'll soon see for yourselves, because the next chapter will focus on everyone's favorite chaos loving supermodel and her mercenary sister. Even better, I'm gonna make it inspired by Uncharted. Now, for the recent characters, I brought in Bedman from Guilty Gear Xrd, and Sobek from Gods of Rome. Okay, technically, Sobek is an actual deity of sorts, but I wanted to use the GoR version of him because he looked cool. If anyone plays GoR and recognizes him immediately, good for you.**

* * *

 **Preview of Next Chapter**

Junko: What do you know? This ruin has some kind of guardian.

Mukuro: What do we do with him?

Junko: What else? We shoot the bastard.

Mukuro: I know. I was just checking if we were on the same wavelength.

Junko: (sighs) Whatever am I gonna do with you...?

 **To be continued in Chapter 5: Junko's Fortune**


	6. Chapter 5: Junko's Fortune

Junko and Mukuro travelled through the caverns, which were still very cold, but it was a far cry from the storm raging outside. There were icicles clinging to the walls, as well as frozen pools of water in certain places. It had its own form of beauty.

"Ah, these caves are so beautful," Junko said as she danced around. "If it weren't for that freakin' blizzard, someone with a lot of money on hand could turn this joint into a tourist attraction."

"Junko, you realize that we're up in the mountains," Mukuro said as she walked ahead of her sister. "There is low temperature, high winds and a large amount of snow flying around. Blizzards are common in this part of the world."

Junko scoffed. "What, are you suddenly a meteorolgist or something? Just shut your yap and keep watch. The guide said that there were some kind of monsters lurking around."

"Which guide was that?" Mukuro asked. "The one you tortured or the one you made me shoot in the head, then throw his corpse over the cliff so no one would find it?"

Junko thought for a moment. "Hmm... I think it was the one who kept blabbing on how these parts of the mountain were inaccessable to the general public. Then he went on about some weird phenomenon involving the storms."

"So, to put it in layman's terms, it was the one I shot in the head," Mukuro summarized.

"If that's what you want to go with, fine by me," Junko said with a shrug. "Now keep moving. The sooner we can find this guy, the quicker we can get on with our plan." She grew a sadistic grin on her face.

"The plan to drown the world in despair."

* * *

( **Theme: "Mighty Long Fall" by ONE OK ROCK** )

( **Intsrumental** ) The screen opens to Makoto standing in a empty landscape, then zooms in on his face, then switches to Slash, who is in a similar landscape, but in all black.

( **When we met, the pain stood still, it was us** ) Cuts to Sayaka standing with her arms behind her back, then to Leon, sitting on the ground, and finally to Mondo, is standing in with his hands in his pockets while Chihiro stands behind him, looking up.

( **Then suddenly it's where you go** ) Cuts to Taka standing while looking down on the ground, then cuts to Celeste standing with her hands pressed together, eyes closed.

( **The system blew, I knew** ) Cuts to Hina laying on the ground and circling it with her finger, then to Sakura, who stands with her arms crossed.

( **This side of me, I want a little more** ) Cuts to Byakuya and Toko standing back to back, the former with his arms crossed and the latter looking down, then to Hiro, who looks at his crystal ball and ends with Hifumi sitting down, holding his sketchboard.

( **But inside it seems, I'm just a little boy** ) Cuts to Kyoko standing with her arms crossed, then the screen glitches out to reveal Junko and Mukuro standing over a button. Junko presses it with a deranged look.

( **Nothing else!** ) The ground beneath Makoto crumbles, causing him to fall into the abyss.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall w** **hen you thought love was the top (Whoa)** ) The scene shifts to Makoto running in the empty landscape, with Slash doing the same in the alternate plane.

( **Oh no, it's a wake up call when your life went into shock (Whoa, whoa)** ) The scene moves to the the others with their respective buddy monsters staring at the crumbling walls.

( **It seems like gravity keeps pulling us back down** ) Rewinds to when Makoto is about to fall, when Slash grabs his hand, saving him.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall when you know time is up** ) Slash pulls Makoto to the edge, where his classmates stand before him. He gives them a smile of determination.

( **Don't go** ) Makoto takes a card from his pocket and raises it in the air.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Scene shifts to members of Ultimate Despair, then to Makoto, who lowers the card to his chest.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Makoto closes his eyes, then the scene shifts to Monokuma, standing behind a purple crystal.

( **Don't go** ) The card glows and covers Makoto, turning him into Excalibur as the screen fades to white.

( **Closing intstrumental** ) The screen stops glowing to reveal the various world flags on the ground.

 **Chapter 5** **: Junko's Fortune**

* * *

The sisters continued walking throughout the caves. It appeared normal at first, but a closer shows that it was the total opposite. For some reason, the deeper part of the caverns contained some strange holograms such as sigils or pictures of odd machines.

"What kind of cave has this kind of stuff?" Junko asked as she looked around. "This looks like the kind of thing you would see in some over the top sci-fi show or something."

"Maybe it was left behind by some ancient civilization from another planet," Mukuro suggested.

"What, you mean aliens?" Junko laughed at the thought. "You sure come up with the craziest ideas, little sister."

Mukuro turned around with a raised brow. "I thought you were the little sister."

"And yet I'm the one doing the planning," Junko replied.

Mukuro narrowed her eyes. "I'm the one doing the heavy lifting."

Junko smirked. "Because I order you to."

"I get a lot more done than you," Mukuro shot back.

They stopped walking and stared at each other. The atmosphere in the caverns was dense enough, but the way Junko and Mukuro stared at each other was enough to make it hard to breathe.

"You know," Junko said, breaking the silence. "It's nice to have moments like this. Makes me feel all warm inside. Not that I've grown accustomed to this feeling, mind you."

Mukuro smiled. "I feel the same way, although my emotions have been more or less dulled from all those years with Fenrir."

Junko grinned as she put her arm around her sister. "Well, we've got all the time in the world to catch up."

Mukuro nodded. "I guess we do."

They continued to walk through the caves, side by side. It was a tender moment between sisters, and it could last for a decade.

"Also, my boobs are bigger than yours."

A shame it didn't stop Junko from making another crack at her sister.

* * *

"I don't get you managed to escape from a trap set by those guerrillas. From what I've heard, they're not the type to take any prisoners."

"They might have been big in numbers, but their intelligence was questionable. They didn't even realize that we were leading them on."

Junko and Mukuro spent most of walk talking about what happened in their lives, be it fashion shows or military operations. As they reminisce about their past, they encountered something interesting.

"Hmm... this room looks different," Junko said in an observant tone.

She was right. The room they were in was unlike anything they had seen before. It was a wide space with four black square pillars holding up the ceiling and in the center was some sort of pool. It looked like water, but the sisters could tell that is was something else.

"What exactly is this?" Mukuro asked.

"I don't know," Junko answered, walking towards the pool. "But whatever it is, it has my attention."

As Junko approached the pool, a holographic screen with a 10x10 grid appeared in front of her.

"Hmm? What's this?"

Symbols soon appeared on the screen. They looked to be various types of techology symbols. Junko looked to the upper left corner to see some zeroes, then shifted to the upper right, where the number "50,000" was.

"Oh, I get it," Junko chuckled. "It's some sort of matching game. I play those on my phone all the time."

Mukuro narrowed her eyes at the screen. "I've never had in interest in puzzle games, to be honest."

Junko sighed. "You're not gonna brag about having the top score in Battlefield 1 again, are you?"

Mukuro shook her head. "When had I ever bragged about having the top score?"

"Anytime you get drunk." Junko turned her attention to the screen. "Okay, there are five tech symbols here: power, refresh, volume, wi-fi and Bluetooth. I just have to match them up to get the high score. Sounds easy enough."

"You might want to retract that Junko," Mukuro said.

Junko turned to her. "Why's that?"

Mukuro pointed up to the ceiling. Junko looked to where she pointed and saw a timer. It had the number 60 on it.

"So, I have to reach the top score in a minute," she mused. "That's pretty interesting."

"Yeah," Mukuro agreed with a smirk. "Looks you have a... minute to win it."

Junko turned to her sister with an exasperated look. "Did you really just reference a game show?"

Mukuro shrugged. "I saw an opportunity and I took it. Sue me."

Junko sighed and redirected her attention towards the puzzle in front of her. She slid across the screen and made her first match. And that was when the timer began to countdown. That didn't deter Junko, though. She was too focused on the puzzle to worry about the time. The very same puzzle she was dominating. All that's missing is some fitting music.

( **Crash Fever OST – Follow the Black Rabbit** )

"Hmm?" Mukuro looked around. "Where did this sudden, yet fitting music come from?"

"Don't know, don't care," Junko called out, making match after match. "All I know is that it's really getting me in the groove."

And it did get Junko in the groove. As if she was motivated by the music, she made plenty of matches, her score rising up from 5,000 to 20,000 in only ten seconds. She continued at this pace, her score steadily increasing.

"I am killing this puzzle," Junko said cheerfully. "But, just for the sake of suspense, I'll take one little at the... timer."

Junko trailed off when she saw that she had only 20 seconds to reach the top score instead of 50. Whoever developed this puzzle is either a massive troll or just enjoys watching people fall in despair when they're close to losing.

"Junko, you don't have a lot of time left," Mukuro said.

Junko scoffed as she cracked her knuckles. "Thanks for the update, General Obvious. Now shut up and let me work. The kid gloves are off now. CUE THE NEW MUSIC!"

( **Crash Fever OST – I will never let you go** )

Junko got to work, quickly making match after match as the timer counted down. Mukuro was amazed at the speed her younger sister was going at, swearing to whatever divine being her hands turned into blurs.

"This speed... it's unbelievable," she breathed out. "At this rate, she just might beat the top score before time runs out."

Junko had sweat dripping from every pore on her body as she furiously matched the symbols. She was close to fainting at this point, but her spirit was far more superior to fatigue.

"Do you really think this is going to bring me down?" she growled. "I'm the one who screws people over, not the other way around!" She swipes even faster, steam billowing from her head. "I'LL SHOW YOU I'M NOT ONE TO BE MESSED WITH, YOU BASTARD!"

Junko continued her furious matching, her score at 40,000 and the timer at 10 seconds. Each second proved crutial as she made even more matches.

9...

41,250...

8...

42,120...

7...

43,840...

6...

44,610...

5...

45,930...

4...

46,520...

3...

47,490...

2...

48,410...

1...

49,999...

0.

The time expired. And Junko's final score... was 49,999. Only one point away from a win, and she fell short.

"Are you kidding me?" she deadpanned with an annoyed glare. "I nearly broke a nail playing this cheap Candy Crush knockoff and you tell me that I'm short one point?"

" **That's right, you dumb bimbo,** " a grating voice answered from nowhere. " **And since you lost the game, you lose your life as well. Have fun in the afterlife. By that, I'm referring to Hell, because that's the best place for your kind of people.** "

"My kind of people?" Junko asked indignantly. "What are you talking about?"

She got her answer when she heard low, distorted growling coming from above.

"Oh, well that's perfect," Junko snorted. "I lose your stupid game and now you're gonna sic your monsters at me and my sister."

" **Pretty much,** " the voice replied nonchalantly as the growling became louder. " **Just a quick note, I haven't fed them in... well, forever. Any chance they start to get a taste of your ass, don't fault them for it.** "

Junko faked a grossed out look. "Ugh... do your pets really like eating ass?"

" **Shut up, that's not what I meant,** " the voice shot back. " **Now hurry up and get eaten.** "

Monsters began to crawl down from the ceiling. They were thin, pale and had strange helmets with one eye that let out an eerie blue glow. They surrounded Junko and Mukuro, with intent to kill them. They soon found themselves back to back.

"Mukuro," Junko asked, still looking at the approaching horde.

"Yeah?" Mukuro answered, glaring at the monsters.

Junko let out a breath. "You brought the guns, right?"

She recieved an answer when she felt the grip of a pistol in her hand. She looked down at the weapon and smirked.

"I knew I could count on you," she said.

"As if I go anywhere without them," Mukuro said, holding her own pistol.

( **Uncharted: Drake's Fortune OST – Unwelcome Guests** )

With guns in hand, the sisters began shooting at the deformed beasts that dare approach them. Both of them made accurate headshots which stopped the monsters dead in their tracks. But more came down from the ceiling, and a few more burst through the walls.

"Damn it!" Junko hissed, firing more rounds at the monsters. "Is there no end to these things?"

"We can escape through one of the holes the monsters came through," Mukuro suggested, pointing to said hole.

"Well, what the hell are we standing around here for?" Junko snapped, shooting at more monsters. "Let's make like a pack mule and get out of here!"

Mukuro sweatdropped at her sister's failed attempt at a joke. "Don't you mean haul ass?"

Junko looked at her sister distainfully. "Get in the hole before I shoot your ass."

Mukuro shrugged and went through the hole with Junko following close behind her. As well as the legion of monsters they hadn't killed.

"They're coming after us?!" Junko shouted in disbelief. "These bastards are persistant!"

"They probably match the will of whoever created them," Mukuro said, taking out an assault rifle. "Both of them want us dead."

"Wow, you never cease to state the obvious, do you?" Junko groaned.

Mukuro sighed and handed her the rifle. "Just shoot them."

Junko pointed the weapon at the horde and shot at them, but it only seemed to agitate them even more. She did manage to kill a few of them, but like before, they were quickly replaced.

"I see an opening!" Mukuro called out, pointing to a large crack.

"Thank God for an exit!" Junko cried.

The sisters quickly reached the crack and went right through it, finally escaping the mob of creatures pursuing them.

"We made it," Junko sighed in relief, slumping on.

"Yes, we did," Mukuro replied, doing the same. She looked around their new surroundings, which appeared to be some sort of hall. It was very spacious, complete with gray banners, statues of machines and hologram floating around.

"Only question is, where are we now?"

"You damn interlopers are in my room."

Both of the girls turned to the end of the hall, where a figure sat on a obsidian black throne with holograms floating around it. The figure wore a orange hoodie with a unique skull and crossbones design, black pants with the number "13" on the left leg and white sneakers with tribal decals. Other distinguishing figures were black and white gloves on his hands, and a futuristic helmet on his head which the hood partially covered.

"So, this is your joint?" Junko asked.

"It is," the figure replied. "And you two are tresspassing."

Junko scoffed. "Tresspassing? We're not tresspassing."

"Like hell you aren't," the figure snapped. "You failed my puzzle, killed off my monsters and slipped through the crack in the wall that I keep forgetting to fix." He sighed and scratched the side of his helmet. "But, I'll give you two credit to making it this far."

"Thanks for the compliment," Junko said. "I'm Junko Enoshima. The trash pile behind my is my sister, Mukuro Ikusaba."

Mukuro looked offended. "Trash pile?"

Junko turned to her and pinched her nose. "You smell like you haven't bathed in weeks."

Mukuro sniffed the inside of her jacket. "I'm pretty sure I did..."

The figure rose off his throne and stretched his legs. "Nice to meet you both. My name is Null."

Junko couldn't stop herself from laughing. "Null? What kind of a dumbass name is that?"

"It's my name, you dumb bitch," Null growled. "And you best remember it, because I am part of most devious, vicious species of individuals you'll have the misfortune of coming across." He rose his hand in a dramatic fashion. "We are known for widespread disruption, defamation of authority and overall anarchic acts throughout Virtual World. We are the digital demons, the imps of information technology, the futuristic fiends. We are... Hackers."

"So... you're one of these Hackers?" Mukuro asked.

Null slumped back into his throne. "Actually, I'm the last Hacker. My kind was betrayed by one of our own, and he's been in hiding ever since. Freakin' Anon, always the bleeding heart..."

"So technically, that would make you and this Anon guy the last Hackers," Junko pointed out.

"Tch, not likely," Null scoffed. "Anon threw his birthright as a Hacker away when he decided to sell the rest of us out to the Admins." He clenched his fists and trembled with anger as a dark aura surrounded him."I swear, when I see that double crossing prick, I'm gonna rip out his wiring from his throat and shove it back in his mouth."

Junko and Mukuro stared at him for a brief moment, more or less disturbed with how he was being at the moment. The youngest of the sisters decided to break the silence.

"Alright, Null. I've heard a lot about you."

Null sighed. "I'm sure you have."

Junko grinned. "Great. Now, I came here wanting only one thing from you..."

"You want me help you in your quest to drown the world in despair, right?"

She widened her eyes in shock. "How did you know?"

"I can see it in your eyes," Null said, rising out of throne and walking towards Junko. He brought his fingers to her face and looked at her deeply. "The need for chaos burns deep from within the dark pits of your soul... I can't help but find us to be kindred spirits."

"You really think so?" Junko asked.

Null nodded. "I do. But, my services don't come for free. In order to get to go on with your plan, you need only to do one thing."

Junko tilted her head. "And what's that?"

"Defeat me in a Buddyfight," Null said plainly.

Junko stared at him and scoffed. "That's it? I just gotta beat you in Buddyfight?"

"Yes," Null answered.

Junko laughed heartily. There were some tears falling from her eyes each time she laughed. "Mukuro?"

"Yes?" the elder sister replied.

It was there that Junko stopped laughing and put on a serious look. "Get me Monokuma."

Mukuro reached into her backpack and handed to her sister the most strangest thing Null had seen in his life: a black and white plush bear with a normal eye on its white side and red, scar-like eye on its black side.

"Is... is that your bear your Core Gadget?" he asked.

"Yep!" Junko said cheerfully, holding the bear. "Isn't he just adorable?"

"Well... he's something alright." Holograms began to form around Null. "Now, let's get down to business."

Junko grinned. "My thoughts exactly."

The entire hall began to dissolve, now taking the form of a mountain top surrounded by fog. The perfect setting for a battle.

" **Crush all hope! Lay waste to happiness! Flatten everything good about this world and replace it with despair!** " Junko swung Monokuma around and kissed him before waving her hand his scar eye and summoning five cards. " **Luminize, Starlight Despair!** "

Null began all sorts of dramatic poses. " **An endless data stream of madness and mayhem, driving even the most educated minds to the brink of insanity.** " He summoned five cards, then put his left hand downward and his right over his face. " **Luminize, Digital Despair.** "

"Hey, our deck names almost match," Junko said. "That's cool."

Null chuckled. "I know. Now..."

"Let's raise the flag!" they both shouted.

"I fight for Star Dragon World!" Junko announced, her world's flag appearing behind her.

"And I fight for Virtual World," Null said, his world's flag appearing behind him.

 _ **Junko: Life 10, Gauge 3**_

 _ **Null: Life 10, Gauge 3**_

"I'm going first!" Junko said, taking a card from the bear. "Draw!" She then added to her gauge. "Charge and draw!"

 _ **Junko's Gauge: 4**_

"I'm gonna kick things off by calling Clustar, Magma Ocean to the center!"

Junko threw a card to the center position, and appearing in its place was a large, red and orange dragon with cannons on every part of its body.

 _ **Clustar, Magma Ocean**_

 _ **Size: 2**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 4000**_

 _ **Critical: 3**_

 _ **Defense: 4000**_

 _ **World: Star Dragon World**_

 _ **Attribute: Neodragon**_

"Magma, burn him to the ground!" Junko ordered.

Magma Ocean let out a deafening roar as all of its cannons began to charge. When they finished, they released a barrage of beams at Null, who didn't even flinch at one of them hitting him in the chest.

 _ **Null's Life: 7**_

 _ **Junko: End of Move**_

"Is that the best you've got?" Null asked, clearly unimpressed. "I'll show you what an age-old Hacker is made of **.** "

 _ **Null: Your Move**_

Null said nothing as he drew a card out of thin air, added one to his gauge and dew another.

"I call to the center Viral Dragon Prince, Abraxas to the left position."

Appearing in the left was a tall, lanky metalic dragon with long blades on its arms and legs. The had a curved horn that resembled a blade itself. It was armed with a broad sword with a sinister-looking hilt.

 _ **Viral Dragon Prince, Abraxas**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 3000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 4000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attribute: Viral Dragon**_

"Also, I call to the center, Viral Dragon Guard, Nyxem. **"**

Another dragon appeared on the center. It was much bulkier than the other dragon, and the amount of gray armor it wore appeared to emphasize that. There were also plenty of cannons on its shoulders as well.

 _ **Viral Dragon Guard, Nyxem**_

 _ **Size: 2**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 4000**_

 _ **Critical: 3**_

 _ **Defense: 6000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attribute: Viral Dragon**_

"Finally, I call to the right, Viral Dragon Assassin, Natas."

One more dragon appeared, in the right position. It was noticible that this dragon was smaller than the other two, wearing nothing but a tattered cloak to cover its ghastly white scales and black eyes. It was armed with a pair of knives.

 _ **Viral Dragon Assassin, Natas**_

 _ **Size: 0**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 1000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 2000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attribute: Viral Dragon**_

Junko laughed at the sight of the smaller dragon. "Please tell me you don't intend to fight me with that thing."

"Of course not," Null replied. "For you see, Natas has a skill that can be very benifical."

Junko raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Like what?"

"Watch."

Before anything else could be said, Natas started to pixelate and went into Nyxem, much to the sisters' shock.

"W-What was that?" Mukuro asked.

"The hell are you asking me for?" Junko snapped.

Null chuckled. "Nyxem is able to go into the soul of any monster currently played, as long as they have the digital blood of a Viral Dragon. He hides in the soul, waiting for the right moment."

Junko scratched her head. "Okay, I see your point. But why put him in the soul of a monster with 6,000 defense? You should've-"

"Put him in the prince's soul?" Null replied, finishing her sentence. "I never intended on doing such a thing." He raised a card. "I cast Code 202: Created on Abraxas."

Red lines of code flowed into the Viral Dragon, giving him an additional 2,000 power.

"Now, get that eyesore of a dragon out of here."

Abraxas charged towards Magma Ocean, dodging the many lasers in its path. It eventually reached Magma Ocean and cut the larger dragon in half, destroying him.

"Go in the the kill, Nyxem," Null ordered.

The cannons on Nyxem's shoulders fired at Junko, damaging her.

 _ **Junko's Life: 7**_

 _ **Null: End of Move**_

"That's it for my act," he said, sitting down. "Now, it's time for yours."

 _ **Junko: Your Move**_

The blonde repeated the process while looking intently at Null.

 _ **Junko's Gauge: 5**_

" _What exactly his is game here?"_ she thought to herself. _"I thought he made that move by mistake, but I get the feeling there's more to it than that. I'll think about it later."_

"I call Dragonarms, Elgar Cannon to the left position."

Junko threw a card to the left, making a small, jet-like weapon with cannons mounted under the wings appear.

 _ **Dragonarms, Elgar Cannon**_

 _ **Size: 2**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 4000**_

 _ **Crtical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 5000**_

 _ **World: Star Dragon World**_

 _ **Attribute: Dragonarms**_

"Now I'll call Giant Star, Leitning to the center."

Junko threw another card to the right, and it's place appeared a large, white and gold dragon with a large golden ball beneath it.

 _ **Giant Star, Leitning**_

 _ **Size: 2**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 6000**_

 _ **Critical: 3**_

 _ **Defense: 6000**_

 _ **World: Star Dragon World**_

 _ **Attribute: Neodragon**_

 _ **Junko's Gauge: 3**_

"Wait, you can't have a pair of Size 2s," Null said, before realizing something. "Wait, is that one a Dragonarms?"

Junko smirked. "That's right. I can put that bad boy into Leitning's soul, increasing its power by 2000 and critical by one."

Elgar Cannon floated over to Leitning and split apart its body, attaching itself and its weapons to the unorthodox dragon.

"And with that out of the way, I call to the left, again, Rainbow Vision, Shadowscare."

Junko threw another card to the right, and in its place came a black, serpent-like dragon with rainbow colored lightning surrounding it.

 _ **Rainbow Vision, Shadowscare**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 6000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 1000**_

 _ **World: Star Dragon World**_

 _ **Attribute: Neodragon**_

"Now, let's if we can clean up a bit," Junko said with a grin. "Leitning, attack Nyxem."

Empowered by the Dragonarms, Leitning fired upon the dragon, destroying it. However, a shadow leaped from the spot where Nyxem was destroyed and leaped towards Junko, damaging her.

"Gh-!"

 _ **Junko's Life: 5**_

"Ugh... what the hell was that?" she groaned.

"That was Natas' skill," Null answered smugly. "If the monster is destroyed while he inhabits its soul, he strikes the fighter with an additional critical. But in exchange for that, he goes to the drop zone."

"Big deal," Junko scoffed. "I've got another one for you. Shadowscare, attack the fighter."

Shadowscare let out a distorted roar as to flew towards Null, shooting multicolored bolts of lightning towards the Hacker. Like before, he did not flinch from the assault.

 _ **Null's Life: 5**_

" _This brat is definitely toying with me,"_ he thought. _"She's deliberately making all these amateur moves try and spite me. But for what purpose?"_

Junko noticed that the Hacker had fallen silent. "Hey, what's going on over there? Did you go to sleep or something?"

"Maybe he ran out of power and is reserving it," Mukuro suggested.

"I'll have you know that I have a limitless power source residing in my body," Null said. "But putting that aside, Junko, would you care to explain yourself?"

"Oh, you want me to explain why I've been making all these amateur moves, don't you?" she asked, grinning widely.

Null was surprised. "Um... yes. What are you, a mind reader?"

"Well, that's easy to answer," Junko said grinning widely. "I just love screwing around with people. The feeling of someone getting frustrated over someone else toying with their emotions, the sensation of another's suffering... the overwhelming, euphoric tingle of some idiot feeling..."

And with that last word, her eyes began to glow red.

"... _ **Despair.**_ "

Null stared blankly at her for a few moments, then cleared his throat.

"Okay, you got me hooked. End the fight!" he shouted to no one in particular.

All of the monsters on the field were destroyed, much to the sister's confusion.

"Huh? What's going on?" Mukuro asked.

"Shut up and follow me," Null said, walking into a tunnel. "I got something to show you two."

Mukuro turned to Junko, who shrugged.

"If he's got something for us, who are we to refuse him? Maybe it will be something good."

* * *

The twins followed Null into the tennel, which became warmer the further they went down.

"So, what's this thing you want to show us?" Junko asked.

"It's something big," Null said. "But in order to get it, you need to kill the guardian."

"Guardian?" Junko groaned miserably. "Why does there have to be a guardian?"

"It is what it is," Null replied. "We're almost there, by the way."

"What are you talking about... oh."

Junko's eyes widened when they reached a cavern that had a large alter in the center. And in the center of said alter was a giant, purple crystal that radiated with dark energy.

"Wow... that thing is beautful," Junko said, slightly drooling.

Mukuro's eyes scanned every inch of the cavern. "I don't see the guardian anywhere."

Null chuckled. "It'll show up. Just wait."

"For all we know, you're lying," Junko said, still staring at the crystal. "You probably made that up."

And as if it were on cue, a large, golem-like creature dropped out of nowhere in front of the group.

"Well, what do you know?" Junko said. "This ruin has some kind of guardian."

Mukuro took out her rifle, aiming at the creature. "What do we do with him?"

Junko scoffed. "What else? We shoot the bastard."

"I know," Mukuro replied. " I was just checking if we were on the same wavelength."

Junko sighed. "Whatever am I gonna do with you...?"

Mukuro was prepared to shoot down the monster, but suddenly, it toppled over, landing flat on its back.

"Huh? What happened?"

"I shut it off, that's what happened," Null said.

Junko was confused. "What? Why did you do that?"

"Because the author is a lazy moron who has nothing better to do with his life and put off this chapter for so long, he lost all motiviation to flesh it out some more," Null said, ignoring the steeping anger of said author, ready to remove him from the story right after he was announced-

"Alright, alright, chill out. I was only joking. Not really..."

What was that?

"Nothing."

Alright, then. So, Null leaped over the deactivated golem and walked towards the crystal. Junko and Mukuro, who had no idea what was going on, followed him. The crystal looked even more menacing up close.

"This beauty right here is going to drown the whole world in despair," Null said, gently caressing the huge stone.

"Really?" Junko said, tapping the crystal with her manicured nail. "This thing is going to cause despair worldwide?"

Null chuckled. "Of course it will, Junko. And we don't have to stop there. We'll spread despair across the universe and then some. Soon, every being will know what power despair can bring."

Junko planted her hand on the crystal, feeling the energy flow through her.

"You know something, Null?"

The Hacker turned to Junko, who gave off a small grin.

"This is going to be one beautiful partnership... and no one is going to stop us."

* * *

"ACHOO!"

For some reason, both Makoto and Slash sneezed at the same time.

"What do you think that was about?" Makoto said, wiping his nose.

"Not sure," Slash replied. "Let's just hope it isn't some bad omen."

* * *

 **KS: (yawns) Did you enjoy the chapter and the new villain I added? Good. I'm going to be now, so enjoy this preview.**

* * *

 **Preview of Next Chapter**

Leon: So, what do we do?

Celeste: I believe are supposed to socialize with each other.

Kiyotaka: I agree! Building relationships is an essential part of school life!

Toko: W-Who'd want to build a r-r-relationship with a hardass l-like you?

Kiyotaka: Watch your mouth!

Mondo: Seriously, don't you know how to tone it down?

Hina: You don't have much room to talk. You're as loud as he is.

Sayaka: And you swear a lot.

Mondo: (angrily) What the fuck is your point?!

Yasuhiro: You just proved it.

 **To be continued in Chapter 6: Meet, Greet and Beat Up**


	7. Chapter 6: Meet, Greet and Beat Up

**KS: And we are back. I just love how these things turn out.**

* * *

( **Theme: "Mighty Long Fall" by ONE OK ROCK** )

( **Intsrumental** ) The screen opens to Makoto standing in a empty landscape, then zooms in on his face, then switches to Slash, who is in a similar landscape, but in all black.

( **When we met, the pain stood still, it was us** ) Cuts to Sayaka standing with her arms behind her back, then to Leon, sitting on the ground, and finally to Mondo, is standing in with his hands in his pockets while Chihiro stands behind him, looking up.

( **Then suddenly it's where you go** ) Cuts to Taka standing while looking down on the ground, then cuts to Celeste standing with her hands pressed together, eyes closed.

( **The system blew, I knew** ) Cuts to Hina laying on the ground and circling it with her finger, then to Sakura, who stands with her arms crossed.

( **This side of me, I want a little more** ) Cuts to Byakuya and Toko standing back to back, the former with his arms crossed and the latter looking down, then to Hiro, who looks at his crystal ball and ends with Hifumi sitting down, holding his sketchboard.

( **But inside it seems, I'm just a little boy** ) Cuts to Kyoko standing with her arms crossed, then the screen glitches out to reveal Junko and Mukuro standing over a button. Junko presses it with a deranged look.

( **Nothing else!** ) The ground beneath Makoto crumbles, causing him to fall into the abyss.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall w** **hen you thought love was the top (Whoa)** ) The scene shifts to Makoto running in the empty landscape, with Slash doing the same in the alternate plane.

( **Oh no, it's a wake up call when your life went into shock (Whoa, whoa)** ) The scene moves to the the others with their respective buddy monsters staring at the crumbling walls.

( **It seems like gravity keeps pulling us back down** ) Rewinds to when Makoto is about to fall, when Slash grabs his hand, saving him.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall when you know time is up** ) Slash pulls Makoto to the edge, where his classmates stand before him. He gives them a smile of determination.

( **Don't go** ) Makoto takes a card from his pocket and raises it in the air.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Scene shifts to members of Ultimate Despair, then to Makoto, who lowers the card to his chest.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Makoto closes his eyes, then the scene shifts to Monokuma, standing behind a purple crystal.

( **Don't go** ) The card glows and covers Makoto, turning him into Excalibur as the screen fades to white.

( **Closing intstrumental** ) The screen stops glowing to reveal the various world flags on the ground.

 **Chapter 6: Meet, Greet and Beat Up**

* * *

Makoto and Slash returned to their classroom, where it remained empty. After a long day of greeting their fellow students and their monsters, they could use some relaxation.

"That was the most fun I had in a long time," Slash muttered dryly.

"You didn't like meeting with our classmates?" Makoto asked.

Slash rested his head against the wall and sighed. "Only some of them. That writer chick looks all kinds of weird, and that moron with that WWI-style explosion of a haircut seems like the type who would piss me off with little effort."

Makoto laughed awkwardly. "You don't have a high opinion of some people, do you?"

"Only certain people," Slash answered. "And I could tell that Fukawa girl didn't like me at all.

"Probably because you tried to strangle Kiyotaka," Makoto pointed out.

Slash lifted his head from the wall and turned to Makoto.

"That's only because he took my weapons," he defended. "I've had those ever since I was developed and I never let anyone touch them without my damn permission. I was lucky that I remembered that I could materialize them at will, or we would have never won against that rich douche."

"Honestly, do you make a habit of badmouthing people you know nothing about?"

Makoto and Slash turned to the back of the room where they saw Byakuya sitting at a desk, giving the two of them a heated glare.

"Oh, Byakuya," Makoto said, walking up to him. "I haven't seen since our fight earlier." He extended his hand towards him with a smile. "That was a good battle, by the way."

Byakuya scoffed as she stood from his desk and pushed Makoto's hand away.

"Don't get cocky because you won against me," he hissed. "That loss didn't count. You just got lucky."

Once again, Slash was put off by his attitude and stormed towards him until his face was an inch away from his.

"Listen here, you self-righteous fuck," he growled. "There was barely any luck in that fight. He beat your stupid ass fair and square without any dirty tricks at all. He even pointed out that you could've used that dragon's other abilities to help you, but no, you just put it in your center, thinking it could protect you. Big fucking mistake there pal."

Byukuya grit his teeth as his glare grew more intense.

"Who are you to speak to me in such a crude manner?" he said venomously. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

"No, I don't know," Slash answered with some venom of his own. "And frankly, I don't care either. Anyone who acts like their better than everyone else just because they were born in a silver spoon in their mouth is not someone who should exist or any other universe."

Byakuya grit his teeth as he twitched his eyebrow. Once again, this upstart was disrespecting him without a second thought and with even less restraint. Where exactly does he get off, insulting someone as important as him.

"Please, lets not engage in such meaningless squabbles," an elegant voice. "We should properly get to know each other before going for throats, yes?"

The boys turned to the source of the voice and saw none other than Celeste walk in the room, her full-armored buddy following closely behind her.

"Hey, I know you," Slash said, walking away from Byakuya and towards her. "You're the goth chick from the caf."

"Oh my," Celeste giggled. "To think you would remember me after our brief meeting earlier."

Slash shrugged. "It's kinda hard to forget a face like yours." He turned his attention to the knight. "And his."

"Your face is just as hard to forget," Valkor said bitterly.

Makoto walked up to the duo. "Hello, I don't we've met properly. I'm Makoto Naegi."

Celeste gave a small bow. "A pleasure to meet you. I am Celestia Ludenburg."

"And I am Dark Flame Knight, Valkor," the knight introduced himself. "An honor to meet you."

"Good to meet you as well," Makoto replied.

"Looks like we made it in time," another voice called out from the door. "I'm glad that we're not late."

Everyone turned to see Hina and Sobek walk in the room.

"Hi! I'm Aoi Asahina," she said cheerfully.

"And I'm the Guardian of the Nile, Sobek," the crocodile announced proudly.

At the mention of the monster's name, Byakuya walked over to him, interest filling his eyes.

"Sobek, you say? I never expected a creature of Egyptian myth to be present," he said. "What world are you from?"

"Legend World," Sobek replied casually.

"That is certainly interesting," Celeste said. "Never have I heard about an Egyptian creature taking residence in Legend World."

"Well, I'm not the only one," Sobek explained. "All of the other gods are there as well."

"R-Really?" Makoto asked, surprised with this information.

Sobek nodded. "It's surprising, I know. But it's true."

"Egyptian gods in Legend World, huh? I wouldn't mind stopping for a visit there."

Once again, everyone turned around to see Sayaka and LeBlanc walk in the room, the former running up to Makoto.

"Hey Makoto," she said cheerfully. "Looks like we're in the same class this year."

Makoto chuckled while blushing lightly. "Y-Yeah, I guess so."

"Aw, look at the lovebirds getting along," LeBlanc teased. "Both of you should just- urk!"

LeBlanc's words were replaced by groan of pain as Sayaka pinched her arm without turning back at her.

"Ignore her," Sayaka said as she continued to smile, only this time, a dark aura surrounded her. "She has a hard time thinking before she opens her mouth. Isn't that right... Evaine?"

LeBlanc blanched when she heard her buddy say that name. "Sayaka! Didn't I tell you not to call me that in public?"

Sayaka turned around, her creepy smile still on her face. "It seems appropriate, considering how you shorten my name all of the time."

LeBlanc visibly shivered at the sight of her buddy's smile.

"As amusing as this petty squabble is, would you do us the pleasure of introducing yourselves?" Byakuya asked impatiently.

"Oh, right," Sayaka said, the tense aura around her suddenly dissolving. "I'm Sayaka Maizono. I am the Ultimate Pop Sensation." She nudged LeBlanc, signaling her to introduce herself as well.

"I-I'm Sayaka's buddy," she said, shaking off any nervousness she had. "I am Deciever, LeBlanc."

Slash tilted his head. "Deciever? That's an odd name to have for a monster. What world are you from?"

"She's from Magic World," Makoto answered. "Her magic involves decieving her opponents."

"It's a lot more than that, but that's the gist of what I can do," LeBlanc sighed. "It doesn't really matter. I have a wide array of ways to decieve others for my own benefit."

"As long I as draw breath on this earth, I will not allow you to act in a manner that will disrupt our school life!"

At the sound of the boisterous voice, Slash let out a groan of annoyance.

"Don't tell me... it's him," he sighed.

The person he was referring to was none other than Kiyotaka, who marched right up to LeBlanc and pointed at her.

"You should do well to follow the code of conduct at this school, or else you will have to answer to me!" he ordered. "Am I clear?"

LeBlanc cast an annoyed look at him, but complied. "Yeah, I got you, Mussolini."

Kiyotaka's eyebrow twitched in frustration. "My name is Kiyotaka Ishimaru and you will address me as such!"

Everyone winced and covered their ears at the volume and tone at his voice.

"My goodness," Celestia groaned. "For a second, it sounded like he was speaking through a bullhorn."

"For all we know, he probably has one implanted in his throat," Valkor added.

Everyone else had the same idea, but they kept it to themselves.

"You really need to keep it down, Taka," another voice said. "At this rate, you'll give everyone in the building hearing loss."

Once more, everyone's attention was drawn towards the doorway, where Makhaira stood.

"Hey there," he said with a small wave. "I'm Makhaira Dragon. But I'm known to most people as Mak. Although, Taka won't call me that."

Kiyotaka blushed in frustration. "I told you to call by my full name!"

Makhaira sighed as he scratched his arm.

"So, this is where everyone's meeting, huh?"

All eyes were turned to the door again as Mondo and Lala walked into the room.

"I'm Mondo Owada. Nice to meet ya."

Lala posed dramatically, covering most of her face with her left hand while using her right hand to support her arm.

"Heed my words, foolish mortals," she boomed. "I am Armorknight Dullahan, reaper of souls and slayer of the wicked. If you dare challenge myself or my master, I assure you that your end will be swift and painful..."

As she droned, everyone felt uncomfortable from the atmosphere that formed due to her speech.

"I don't believe this," Slash groaned. "She's one of _those_ people."

"What do mean 'those people'?" Hina asked.

Slash let out a sigh of frustration. "To put it in a nutshell, she's one of those freaks who get in their 1KB heads that they have some special powers or believe they serve some dark god. The list goes on at the point."

"So, she has the mind of a middle schooler?" Celeste inquired.

"That's exactly what I was getting at," Slash agreed.

"M-Master! Do not do that with my head!"

Everyone was shocked to see Mondo casually remove Lala's head from her body. What was more shocking was that her body moved sporadically even without her head attached.

"I keep telling you," he said as he tossed his buddy's head in the air. "Do that again I'll take your head off. And you keep doing it anyway."

Lala was so embarassed that she broke her intimidating character without realizing it.

"Please, can keep everything tranquil here? Too much excitement is bad for the blood, you know."

Vladimir walked into the room with Yasuhiro trailing close behind him.

"Wow, there's a lot of people here," Yasuhiro said with a big grin. "I'm Yasuhiro Hagakure, but call me Hiro for short."

"Short like your long-term memory, I assume," Byakuya quipped, adjusting his glasses.

"Hey, what's that mean?" Hiro asked defensively.

Byakuya scoffed. "Like I need to answer a stupid question from an equally stupid person."

Hiro slumped down, a dark cloud hovering above him, pouring rain on his head. "Stupid? What did I do to piss you off...?"

"Ah, ignore him," Slash said. "He makes it a habit of putting down those he believes are inferior to him."

Byakuya glared at the hunter. "That's because all of you are inferior."

Slash glared back. "And yet you lost to someone of the middle class. Maybe if you weren't so busy stroking that giant ego which is probably bigger than your dick, you'd put up an actual fight."

Byakuya was about to shoot a response, but Kiyotaka got between the both of them.

"Please, let's not start any arguing here," he insisted. "A classroom is a place learning, not needless provocation."

"I agree," a deep voice said. "There is no need for infighting amongst ourselves."

Everyone turned to the door to see Sakura walk into the room.

"Well, if it isn't the master of the Ansatsuken," Slash quipped. "How's it hanging, Akuma?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes at him. "Do you still intend on calling me that?"

Slash shrugged. "It's fitting, considering how you bear a slight resemblance to the guy. Also, I don't know your real name."

The fighter let out a sigh. "My name is Sakura Ogami. Do well to remember that."

"Sure, sure, whatever," Slash said. "Far be it from be to incur the wrath of a fighter by pronouncing her name wrong. Although, I'll occasionally call you Akuma whenever the mood strikes me."

"As long as you don't call me that often, then I will allow it," Sakura replied.

Hina walked up to her, amazed with how she looked. Unlike the others, she was certain that Sakura was a girl.

"Wow... you must work out a lot," she said in awe.

"I have a rigorous training regime that I follow every day of the week," Sakura said with pride. "If you wish, I can introduce you to some of the basics."

Hina's eyes beamed with excitement. "Really? That sounds great!"

Vladmir sighed. "Those two appear to have hit it off quite well."

"Do you think that if she trains like her, she'll be a walking muscle mass like her?" Hiro asked in a whisper.

"That would be terrifying," Vladminir whispered back. "I can't imagine that sweet girl having a similar appearance to that hulking brute."

"Would you two be so kind as to fill the rest of us in your little conversation?"

Hiro and Vladimir stopped breathing when they felt a menacing aura close to them. They both turned around to see Sobek glaring at both of them with enough intensity to kill a wild animal.

"You better not be saying anything bad about Hina," he growled. "I'd hate to explain why there were bones where you used to be."

Upon hearing the threat, Hiro and Vladimir threw their hands in surrender.

"W-We swear, we weren't insulting her or anything!"

"I-It's the furthest thing on our minds, we assure you!"

Sobek stared at both of them for a few seconds, then shrugged.

"Alright, you two seem genuine enough. I'll let you off this time." He glared again. "But don't let me hear you say anything else unsavory, got it?"

They both nod.

"Wow, sure seems lively in here."

Once more, everyone's attention was turned towards the door, where Leon and Toyohisa walked in, with Hifumi and Bedman trailing close behind.

"'Sup! I'm Leon Kuwata. Nice to meet all of you!"

"And I am Hifumi Yamada!"

Slash facepalmed and sighed in frustration. "Great, just what I needed: a fat one and a spiky one. This is shaping up to be a great day so far."

"You know, you're pretty miserable for someone who just arrived in our world," Kiyotaka stated.

Slash gave the prefect a dirty look. "What's it to you? I didn't ask for your damn input."

Sakura turned to him. "Do not be rude to him. He was only concerned for your well-being."

"I can take care of my own well-being, thank you," Slash replied bitterly.

"Am I late? There's a lot of people here."

Chihiro walked into the room. She darted around nervously until she saw Slash.

"Oh, it's you!" she exclaimed, running up to him.

Slash grinned as he saw the programmer approach him. "Thought I'd recognized you with those big doe eyes of yours."

He patted her on the head, making her smile.

"Aw, someone's got a crush," Hina teased.

Slash snorted dismissively. "It's not like that. We just happen to share an interest in computers."

Hina smiled regardless. "You know what they say: small interests can lead to long life of love."

"Nobody ever said that," Slash groaned.

Hina chuckled nervously. "I'm sure I heard it somewhere..."

"W-What would some dumb b-bimbo like you know about l-love, anyway? I b-bet you would k-know the meaning of the w-word if someone shouted it right at your face."

Nearly everyone in the room jumped in surprise when they turned to see Toko standing a few feet away from the door, implying she walked in long before anyone noticed her.

"When the hell did you get here?" Mondo asked.

Toko mustered a hateful glare at him. "T-That's none of your business."

Makoto watched in amazement as the students interacted with each other. He saw Hina have a conversation with Sakura, while Mondo and Kiyotaka argue in a heated matter. But what really surprised was Toko basking in the glory that was Byakuya.

Then, a thought occured to him. Something that has been nagging at the back of his mind upon seeing more people arrive in the room.

"Hey, how did everyone find this room?" he asked out loud.

Everyone stopped talking and turned to him. Makoto took that as a sign to speak some more.

"I only knew about where this room is after meeting that security guard, but how did all of you get here?"

Everyone thought about it for a few seconds, then Sayaka spoke.

"I was told to come to this room," she said.

"Yeah, thinking about it, the same happened to me too," Hina replied.

"Funny, some random chick wearing an apron came up and ordered me to come here," Leon added.

Mondo perked up in realization. "You know, Lala and I ran into someone like that. She kept hollering about me going to class or something."

"Who would have brought us all here?" Celeste asked.

"That would be me!"

Makoto's attention was turned to the door, but before he could ask who it was, an orange and blue blur sped into the classroom, leaving a cloud of dust in it's wake. Everyone caught in the cloud coughed out of reflex, but to their relief, it didn't last long.

"What in the hell was that?" Leon said between coughs.

"I'm not sure, but it was too fast to be human," Celeste answered, coughing a bit.

"Hey! I'll have you know that I am 100% human!"

When the dust finally cleared, everyone finally saw who charged into the room unannounced.

Standing at the front desk was a young woman with large green eyes and orange hair tied in a ponytail with a small part of it on the right being curled. She wore a light blue skirt suit with a white dress shirt, all of which was under and apron.

"I didn't know this school had a housekeeper," Leon said in surprise.

Hifumi drooled at the sight of the woman. "I didn't expected her to be so... enticing.

Suddenly, a mechanical hand appeared from the bed Bedman was confinded to, and flicked Hifumi in the back of his head, snapping him out of whatever fantasy he was having.

"OW!" Hifumi rubbed the back of his head and turned to glare at his buddy. "What was that for?!"

Naturally, due to him being asleep, Bedman did not respond to Hifumi. At least, not verbally.

"I was not undressing her with my eyes!" the portly boy said defensively. "I was merely observing her beauty!"

Again, no verbal response was heard from Bedman. And yet, Hifumi spoke to him like he knew what he was talking about, much to the confusion of the others.

"Is that guy mental?" Mondo asked. "The dude in the bed can't even hear him rant."

"Perhaps there is something about him that the rest of us are unaware of," Sakura wondered.

"Nevermind them for now!" the mystery woman said. "What matters now is that each and every one of you get to know each other better!"

"And who, pray tell, are you to make such demands?" Byakuya asked in a challenging tone.

To his surprise, the woman smiled confidently.

"If you must know... I am Chisa Yukizome, homeroom teacher of Class 77!"

Kiyotaka's eyes widened. "A... teacher?" He put on a strict posture and turned to the group. "Everyone, take your seats immediately! A teacher is present."

"Chill out, man," Leon said. "It's not like she's our-"

"TAKE YOUR SEAT, DAMN YOU!" Kiyotaka ordered in a booming voice.

Leon sped to a desk far from the moral compass and got in his seat, shaking visibly.

"Well, that's one way to get them motivated," Toyohisa muttered as he walked where Leon sat. Soon after, the other chose their seats and their buddy monsters stood beside them.

"I see that your all seated," Chisa said pleasantly. "Now, about why I called you here... why did I do that again?"

"You mentioned something about us getting to know each other better," Sayaka reminded her.

"Yes! That's exactly it!" Chisa exclaimed, ignoring the large sweatdrop on the back of her head. "That was merely a trick question to see if you remembered too!"

Everyone stared at her in silence until Mondo broke it by speaking.

"You totally forgot, didn't you?" he asked.

Chisa fell down, but quickly recovered. "Nevertheless, this is a golden opportunity for all of you. Even though you have something special that made this school recognize you, that's no reason to slam the door on your social skills." She shot Byakuya a look before he could protest. "And before one of you goes on about how socializing is meaningless, it's a big element in human, regardless of how you feel."

Byakuya glared at her, silently fuming that she cut him off before he could get a word in edgewise.

Chisa grinned wider as she continued. "Plus, judging by the figures standing next to you, you're clearly into playing Buddyfight! You're sure to get along better that way!"

"How is a card game supposed to help us get along better?" Mondo asked. "I thought it was about beating the living hell out of anyone dumb enough to face you."

Chisa frowned at him. "Well, it's obvious you've never had a close friend, with that mindset you've got."

Frustrated, Mondo stood up and shook his fist at her. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

Chisa sighed. "It means that if you keep thinking that winning is all that matters in Buddyfight, you might as well get a cat."

Mondo blinked in confusion. "I... don't know what that means either."

"Well, you better pray to whatever deity you worship that you never do," Chisa said. "Oh, I almost forgot. You have another classmate who is in the same room as you."

She walked to the door and opened it. Reaching through the doorway, she pulled in a girl that Makoto instantly recognized.

"Kyoko? You're in this class as well?"

She said nothing as she took her seat.

Chisa put her hands together. "Now that all of you are here, you should have the opportunity to get to know each other on a more personal level. And please don't try to fake it. I'll know."

She prepared to walk out, until someone stopped her.

"Ms. Yukizome!"

Chisa turned to Kiyotaka, who stood from his seat, straight as an arrow.

"Your words were very inspiring as I draw breath on this earth, I will ensure that they are followed to the letter!" He bowed down. "On behalf of this class, I humbly thank you!"

"On whose behalf are you thanking?" Hiro muttered.

Chisa smiled at him. "You are very welcome, Kiyotaka. Anyway, I have to get to my own class now. I have to make sure those two haven't torn it to pieces fighting again."

She waved as she left the room. Everyone who remained was silent.

"So... what do we do now?" Leon asked.

"I believe are supposed to socialize with each other," Celeste answered.

Kiyotaka grinned widely. "I agree! Building relationships is an essential part of school life!"

Toko glared at the moral compass with as much spite as she could muster. "W-Who'd want to build a r-r-relationship with a hardass l-like you?"

"Watch your mouth!" Kiyotaka chided in a loud tone.

Mondo winced at the tone of his voice. "Seriously, don't you know how to tone it down?"

"You don't have much room to talk," Hina shot back. "You're as loud as he is."

"And you swear a lot," Sayaka added.

Mondo glared at both of them. "What the fuck is your point?!"

"You just proved it," Hiro answered.

Mondo turned his burning gaze to him, then slammed his fist onto his desk, making Hiro fall off.

"You want to say that to my face, fuckwit?" he growled.

Hiro began to sweat uncontrollably, fearing for his life.

"HEY! Everyone cool it for a minute!"

Everyone in the room turned to Slash, who was standing on Makoto's desk.

"Get down this instant!" Kiyotaka ordered. "Standing on desks is-"

"Shove it up your ass, Ishimaru!" Slash interrupted. "Something needs to be said here! Well, to be specific..."

He stepped down from the desk and gestured to Makoto.

"Makoto has something to say."

Makoto stood from his desk. "Thanks, Slash. I knew you could get their attention."

"Anytime, man," Slash replied, patting his buddy's back. "Go get 'em, tiger."

Makoto turned to the class and made his speech.

"I'll be honest, I didn't get a lot about what Ms. Yukizome was saying, and I'm sure a lot of you feel the same way."

Murmurs of agreement were heard throughout the class. Makoto decided to continue.

"I figured as much. But throughout the whole time she spoke, one thing about her speech stuck to me. We should get to know each other on a deeper level. I mean, who said that it only had to begin with Buddyfight? We probably have a lot of different interests that we can share with each other. Who knows? Those differences can be what ties this class together."

"But how can you be so sure of that?" Byakuya asked. "You know what they about opposites colliding."

"True, but depending on how this goes, they can attract," Makoto replied. "And I believe those opposites will help us get to know one another better. At least, that's how I feel."

Everyone was silent, as if Makoto's speech made an impact on him.

"I agree wholeheartedly."

All eyes were turned to Sakura, who had her arms crossed.

"We should learn more about each other if we are to get along. I believe this is the best course of action."

"I think so too!" Hina piped up. "I'd like to know more about my classmates as much as possible. Maybe we can exchange stories with each other."

Leon smirked. "Hell, I don't mind it at all! I like meeting new people and learning about them."

"While I don't open up to most people, I say we can all benefit from this," Celeste said. "Just as long you don't push me too far, I am sure there will be no problems."

"I-I would like to get along with everyone as well," Chihiro stuttered, but smiled regardless.

"I can get behind this idea," Sayaka said. "After all, Makoto suggested it."

Mondo sighed. "Fuck it, I'm in. It's not like I have anything better to do around here."

Hiro got back in his seat. "I can go with this idea."

"I will support this idea with every fiber of my body," Hifumi announced.

"I also support this idea!" Kiyotaka boomed. "Let it guide us on the path of-"

"Must you be so loud?" Byakuya groaned. "Any more and everyone present will have hearing loss."

"Y-Yeah, why don't you do the r-rest of us a favor and shut up?" Toko hissed.

Byakuya turned her. "Since when did I give you permission to agree with me?"

Toko was taken aback by his sharp tone. But for some reason, she enjoyed it. It was so enjoyable, she began blushing.

"W-Well, you didn't give me me p-permisssion," she stuttered. "I-I just thought it would be wise to agree with someone who is clearly smarter than the rest to these idiots."

Byakuya stared at her for a few seconds. Toko's heart was beating at a feverish pace as she braced for what he would say next.

"Very well," he finally said. "I will grant you the pleasure of giving me compliments when needed."

Hearing that made Toko swoon.

"Also, try to refrain from doing that," he added. "It's unsightly."

Toko immediately ceased swooning and stood up straight.

As the classmates talked with each other, Makoto and Slash watched them.

"You know, I think this is a good opportunity," Makoto said. "There is a lot about them we don't know about, and now we have to chance to change that."

"You bet," Slash replied, punching his hand. "We get to know them, and get to beat them. Man, I can't wait to see how they far in a fight."

Makoto chuckled awkwardly. "Is fighting all you think about?"

Slash gave him a thumbs up. "All the damn time."

* * *

 **KS: Man, I wish I had a teacher like Chisa in my high school years. Although, looking back, I probably did, but don't remember. Oh well. I think I can make a few more chapters before I introduce Class 77... oh, you know what? I'm not a big fan of build ups. I'm bringing them in next chapter. Roll the preview!**

* * *

 **Preview of Next Chapter**

Slash: And here I thought our class was weird. These people are clearly freaks.

Mondo: Dude, I don't think you should be saying that. They have three people here that are fully capable of kicking your ass to the other side of the equator.

Byakuya: Do you even know what the equator is?

Mondo: You mean that thing that seperates the North Pole and South Pole from each other?

Byakuya: ...Crudely put, but yes, that's the gist of it.

 **To be continued in Chapter 7: 77 Problems But a Bitch Ain't One**


	8. Chapter 7: 77 Problems

**KS: I'm back. It took some time, but I have returned. Normally, I'd go on about how I lost the original version of this chapter because my last computer broke down, but I'm too exhausted. Also, I need to mention something about Slash which I keep neglecting to do from previous chapters. He is from an MMO called Closers Online, and his original name is Nata. He is named Slash in the JP version of the game. Just wanted to get that out in the open. Now, on with the chapter.**

* * *

Many people say that Hope's Peak Academy stood at the center of the world, bringing in the best and brightest youths from across the country and beyond. But soon, the academy would be bringing in someone else. Something sinister. Something evil. Something… despair inducing.

Junko, Mukuro and Null approached the main building of Hope's Peak, staring at it with awe.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Junko said, spreading her arms out. "A symbol of hope, right in front of us. Soon it will be the breeding ground for all kinds of despair."

"Oh yes, this is perfect," Mukuro added. "This whole school is a powder keg waiting to explode, and we're the match to ignite it."

"We shall wreak unspeakable terror throughout the world and this very academy will be the core of all of it," Null bellowed. "And nothing will stop us from wreaking havoc upon the world!"

As the man let out a sinister laugh, Junko and Mukuro look up to the sky.

"You know, this would be a good moment for some dark clouds to move in," Mukuro said.

"I know," Junko grumbled. "Damn weather, can't go along with us villains for one lousy moment."

Null ceased his laughter and patted the sisters' heads. "Oh, pay it no mind. Be it rain or shine, we'll show all those who oppose us we are not to be trifled with. Nobody will ever expect that the Ultimate Fashionista and the Ultimate Soldier will be the ones that willl drive the world into madness. And I'll have a front row seat to the beautiful mayhem.

* * *

( **Theme: "Mighty Long Fall" by ONE OK ROCK** )

( **Intsrumental** ) The screen opens to Makoto standing in a empty landscape, then zooms in on his face, then switches to Slash, who is in a similar landscape, but in all black.

( **When we met, the pain stood still, it was us** ) Cuts to Sayaka standing with her arms behind her back, then to Leon, sitting on the ground, and finally to Mondo, is standing in with his hands in his pockets while Chihiro stands behind him, looking up.

( **Then suddenly it's where you go** ) Cuts to Taka standing while looking down on the ground, then cuts to Celeste standing with her hands pressed together, eyes closed.

( **The system blew, I knew** ) Cuts to Hina laying on the ground and circling it with her finger, then to Sakura, who stands with her arms crossed.

( **This side of me, I want a little more** ) Cuts to Byakuya and Toko standing back to back, the former with his arms crossed and the latter looking down, then to Hiro, who looks at his crystal ball and ends with Hifumi sitting down, holding his sketchboard.

( **But inside it seems, I'm just a little boy** ) Cuts to Kyoko standing with her arms crossed, then the screen glitches out to reveal Junko and Mukuro standing over a button. Junko presses it with a deranged look.

( **Nothing else!** ) The ground beneath Makoto crumbles, causing him to fall into the abyss.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall w** **hen you thought love was the top (Whoa)** ) The scene shifts to Makoto running in the empty landscape, with Slash doing the same in the alternate plane.

( **Oh no, it's a wake up call when your life went into shock (Whoa, whoa)** ) The scene moves to the the others with their respective buddy monsters staring at the crumbling walls.

( **It seems like gravity keeps pulling us back down** ) Rewinds to when Makoto is about to fall, when Slash grabs his hand, saving him.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall when you know time is up** ) Slash pulls Makoto to the edge, where his classmates stand before him. He gives them a smile of determination.

( **Don't go** ) Makoto takes a card from his pocket and raises it in the air.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Scene shifts to members of Ultimate Despair, then to Makoto, who lowers the card to his chest.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Makoto closes his eyes, then the scene shifts to Monokuma, standing behind a purple crystal.

( **Don't go** ) The card glows and covers Makoto, turning him into Excalibur as the screen fades to white.

( **Closing intstrumental** ) The screen stops glowing to reveal the various world flags on the ground.

 **Chapter 7: 77 Problems But a Bitch Ain't One**

* * *

"Man, what a day," Slash sighed, stretching his arms. "Who knew hanging out with classmates could be so taxing?"

"I don't know why you sound tired," Makoto replied. "It's only been a week since we came here."

"Yeah, a week of being with people and no action," Slash added. "There have been a lot of things we've gotten into. Playing catch with Leon, swimming around with Hina and even gotten a look at Mondo's chopper." He let out a sigh on that last one. "A shame he couldn't get that fixed, though. I would really love to see that thing rumble."

Makoto looked at his buddy. "Have you seen a bike like that in your world, Slash?"

The hunter shook his head. "Not really. Where I was from, the only thing I saw was some no-name chumps I had to fight. And if push came to shove… I would have to kill them."

Hearing that made Makoto frown a bit. "Why would you want to kill them."

"Look Makoto, it's not that I wanted to kill them," Slash explained. "I had no choice in the matter. Either I spilt at least a litre of blood, or I would get no food. The same applied with the others I was stuck with."

Makoto actually felt sad for him. His whole life, he had been forced to kill others who had the same restrictions as he did, and the only way they could make their lives easier was to take it from other. Makoto didn't think anyone should live that way, regardless of what world they're from.

"Look, I don't mean to bore you with my life story," the hunter said. "Although, I doubt anyone can call what I went through a life."

To his surprise, Makoto grasped his hand.

"What's this all of a sudden?" he asked. "Are you trying to come out of the closet or something? I'm not going to judge if you are.

Makoto shook his head. "I just wanted you to know that no matter what you've been through, I'll always be bside you."

Slash looked at him for a moment, then began to laught, much to Makoto's confusion.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"You… you say some weird stuff, kid," Slash answered between laughs. "I don't know if I should hug you or stab you for saying something so… cliché."

Makoto slumped down. "Just when I was trying to get a moment…"

The hunter patted his buddy on the back. "Nah, it was alright. A little overdone, but I still appreciate it. At least the atmosphere is good."

Suddenly, a loud crashing noise was heard from above where the two currently stood.

"What the hell was that?" Slash exclaimed.

"I don't know," Makoto replied. "But it sounded like it came from the floor above us."

"Well, obviously it came from above," Slash groaned. "Why else would we hear it?" He kneeled down in front of Makoto. "Get on."

"What?"

"Get on my back and we'll get there together," Slash explained. "What are you waiting for, an invitation?"

Makoto looked at him blankly. "This is about me losing my breath trying to catch up to you, isn't it?"

Slash sighed in frustration. "Makoto, get on my back or I swear to God, I will knock you out and carry you up the stairs."

Makoto let out a sigh of his own and got on Slash's back.

"There, was that so difficult?"

"You know, I starting to wonder if making you my buddy was a good ideAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

Whatever Makoto was about to say was quickly lost as Slash made a mad dash to the floor above, carrying the hapless lucky student on his back as he did.

* * *

"Alright, here we are," Slash said. "Classroom 77-B. We have arrived at our destination. Please remove all personal belongings before disembarking and return trays to the upright position."

Makoto, who was still clinging for dear life on the back of his buddy, gave him an incredulous look. "Why do you sound like a flight attendant?"

"It seemed appropriate," the hunter replied. "It's safe to get off now, by the way."

Makoto got off his back and looked at the door leading to the classroom.

"Okay, time to see what's causing the racket."

He opened the slightly, but he and Slash were in no way prepared for what they witnessed.

"Come on, old man! That can't be the best you've got!"

"Don't get cocky! I'm only getting started!"

A full-on brawl was going on between two of the students in the room, which was the reason why most of it was reduced to rubble.

"I have several questions about this," Makoto said while watching the fight.

"I'm going to take a figurative stab and say one of those questions involve why no one else in the building has noticed this fight and have reported it," Slash replied, totally engrossed in the battle.

Makoto nodded. "Yeah, that's one of them."

"Hey, what's this, a fight?"

Makoto and Slash turned to see Leon and Mondo standing next to them.

"Hey, were are you two coming from?" Slash asked.

"We were just passing by when we saw you two peeking in another classroom," Mondo explained. "We went over to you were to get you to knock it off, but now we see what got you so interested.

"Man, those two are really getting into it," Leon said. "It's like Street Fighter in there."

"Really? It felt more like Dead or Alive from where I was standing," Makoto replied.

"Who cares what fighting game this is like?" Slash snapped. "All I want to know is who those two are. I'm suddenly in the mood of beating them."

"Better get a tombstone then, 'cause that's all gonna be what's left of you if you get in between those two."

Slash's eyebrow twitched at the sound of condecending voice and turned to the source, which was a boy with short blond hair and freckles on his face, wearing a checkered vest over a white dress shirt and black dress pants and white shoes leaning on the wall with his eyes closed.

"Really? And who are you to tell me that kind of stuff?" Slash asked.

"Someone who you should mind your tongue around." The boy opened an golden eye in his direction. "Unless you want it forcefully removed."

Slash chuckled dryly as he walked into the classroom and approached the boy, hostile intent guiding his step. "Hey kid, you might want to grow a few inches before you talk down to me. Unless you want me to cut you down so far, they'll need a microscope to find your remains."

To his surprise, the boy smirked. "Oh yeah? I invite you to try, prick."

Slash took a step closer, only to be stopped by a woman with a steeled gaze who held a shinai close to his face, threatening to strike him if he took another step.

"Do not speak to my master in that tone," she ordered.

Slash blinked at the woman. "Master? What kind of a relationship do you have with this midget? On second thought, don't answer that. It might be something better discussed behind closed doors."

"Get your mind out of the damn gutter," the boy hissed. "She's my bodyguard, if you must know."

Makoto walked into the room with Leon and Mondo following him. "Bodyguard? For what?"

The boy sighed as he got up from the wall. "I guess I should introduce myself. My name's Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu, the Ultimate Yakuza."

Mondo blinked as the words registered in his mind. "Kuzuryu… Yakuza… holy shit, I think I've heard the name before."

Fuyuhiko narrowed his eyes towards the biker. "You look familiar yourself. You're from the Crazy Diamonds, aren't you?"

"Yeah, the name's Mondo Owada, the Ultimate Biker Gang Leader," he replied. "And I'm the current leader of the Crazy Diamonds."

Fuyuhiko chuckled. "If you're their leader, then I doubt our family has much to worry about."

Mondo grit his teeth as he walked towards him. "Why you…"

He was stopped by the woman pointing her shinai to him.

"Do you wish to be injured beyond comprehension as well?" she asked. "Because I am more than willing to oblige."

Slash moved the shinai away to face the woman. "And who, pray tell, are you supposed to be, making threats like that?"

The woman stood up straight and moved her weapon aside. "I am Peko Pekoyama, the Ultimate Swordswoman."

The name of her title nearly made Slash gush with joy. "Ultimate Swords- _what the shit?_ That's the coolest title ever!"

Peko was taken aback by his behavior. "Forgive me, but did you refer to my title as cool?"

"Hell yeah, I did," Slash replied. "Ultimate Swordswoman. Now there's a title that puts fear into the hearts of even the most brutal fighters… just the thought of it gets me excited."

He had stars in his eyes and a few more surrounding his body, much to the confusion of the others.

"This guy clearly has more than his fair share of loose screws," Fuyuhiko said.

The remark snapped Slash out of his reverie and made him glare at the yakuza. "Where do you get off saying that, midget? Are you saying that I'm crazy?"

Fuyuhiko smirked. "I wouldn't say crazy. More like a total fanboy."

A tick mark appeared on the hunter's head. "Hey, do you want me to cut you shorter than you already are, you prick? Maybe I should start with that dumbass haircut you've got."

Now it was Fuyuhiko who was sporting a tick mark. "What's wrong with my hair?"

Slash grinned. "You mean other than it looks like it got the business end of a lawn mower? Not much."

"Well, at least my hair doesn't look like it's been in a hurricane," Fuyuhiko shot back.

The two of them glared intensely at each other, literally baring their teeth.

"Seems like they're gonna throw down," Mondo said. "Who do you think will win?"

"I'm thinking Slash, but I want to see what the little guy has to offer," Leon responded. "What's your take, Makoto?"

The person in question just sighed. "Please tell me we're not making bets on this."

"Fuyuhiko! What are you doing, picking fights with other students?"

The voice broke the two out of their hateful daze and turn to the door, where a girl with redhair and gray eyes walk into the room with a look of distain. Beside her was a shorter girl with blonde hair tied in a ponytail and orange eyes.

"Piss off, Mahiru," Fuyuhiko said. "I'm in the middle of something here."

The smaller girl flashed a smug grin. "What is the wannabe mobster trying to do, get his ass kicked before he gets his tattoos?"

The yakuza glared at the other blonde. "Shut up, Hiyoko!"

Slash moved away from Fuyuhiko and walked over to the two girls, inspecting them from head to toe. The redhead wore what he assumed to be the school uniform. A brown coat over a white shirt with a red string tie along with a black skirt, white socks and brown dress shoes. The blonde, on the other hand, was wearing a bright yellow kimono with floral patterns and wore white socks with sandals.

"Ew, quit checking us out, perv," the blonde said with a disgusted look.

Slash gave her a deadpan look. "Listen, you little punk. I am not checking you out. Frankly, I pity anyone who would find a hateful, poison-tongued dwarf like yourself attractive."

"I am not a dwarf!" the blonde snapped.

Slash chuckled. "Of course not. I'd be offending those lovely species seen in fantasy novels by comparing them to the likes of you."

The blonde grit her teeth, fuming at the insults Slash hurled towards her. She would have returned them tenfold, had it not for her friend standing in front of her, giving Slash a hard look.

"Excuse me, but are you always this rude to people?" she asked.

"I do try," Slash said with a grin. "Thanks for noticing."

The redhead narrowed her eyes. "That wasn't a compliment."

Slash shrugged. "I don't care. By the way, I noticed that camera you've been cradling. What are you, some kind of shutterbug?"

"I'm a photographer," she replied. "The Ultimate Photographer, to be exact. My name is Mahiru Koizumi."

"Right, Mahiru, got it," Slash replied lazily. His attention returned to the shorter girl. "And you are…?"

The shorter girl huffed and crossed her arms. "I'm Hiyoko Saionji, the Ultimate Traditional Dancer. Not that it should matter to you."

"Wow," Slash chuckled once more. "A photographer and a traditional dancer in this school? There must be a classical poet somewhere if I look hard enough."

Mahiru sighed at his carefree nature. "And who exactly are you? We've introduced ourselves, but you haven't done the same. Don't you have any sense of ettiquette?"

Slash was about to answer, but someone beat him to it. Someone who he had hoped he would never have to see or hear again.

"He doesn't, exactly. There is not a single shred of politeness in his system."

Sighing miserably, he looked towards the door to see Byakuya walk in.

"Of all people, why did _you_ have to come here?"

Byakuya sneered in his direction. "Don't think I came here for the likes of you. I was informed that someone of great importance was attending this academy and I wanted to meet them."

"Oh, someone important is here?" Slash asked rhetorically. "Well, I pray that they don't appear like you. God knows that you and your massive ego is beyond suffocating."

Byakuya narrowed his eyes towards him. "Do you wish for me to make your life miserable?"

"Considering that you're standing in front of me, you've already succeeded," Slash retoric, getting in the progeny's face.

Byakuya's patience grew thin within seconds. "It isn't enough for you to disrespect me, now you must invade my personal space?"

Slash leaned in closer with a grin. "Welcome to discomfort. We missed you."

Suddenly, he found himself be lifted upward, much to his surprise.

"Whoa, what's this all of a sudden?"

He turned his head to see the one responsible. Naturally, he was surprised at the man's stature, along with his hairstyle and piercing blue eyes that appeared to stare deep into his soul.

"Can I help you, pal?"

The large man finally spoke. "You should not provoke your friend like that."

"The hell I can't," Slash scoffed. "That silver spoon-sucking shitbag over there is no friend of mine. In fact, he is the most unfriendly prick known to walk this plane of existance."

Byakuya grit his teeth. "Do you wish to repeat that, peasant?"

"I'll do more than repeat it," Slash threatened. "I'll bash it into your damn skull if I need to."

The larger man shook him around. "Don't threaten him like that."

"Why shouldn't I?" Slash asked. "As a matter of fact, who are you to tell me who I can and can't threaten?" He looked at the man up and down. "Putting your threads aside, I assume you're a bouncer or something?"

"I'm not a bouncer," the man replied. Then, in a booming voice, he replied with:

"I AM THE ULTIMATE TEAM MANAGER, NEKOMARU NIDAI!"

Hearing the voice caused Makoto, Leon, Mondo, Byakuya and Slash to cover their ears from the volume of the speaker's voice.

"Jesus Christ, do you have a megaphone lodged in your throat?" Mondo groaned.

"No, I'd say he has a freakin' amp in there," Leon replied in a pained tone, rubbing the inside of his ear with his finger.

Slash got the worst of it, considering he was closest to Nekomaru when he made his bombastic introduction. He began to hear a faint, ringing sound in his ears.

"Well, that's just freakin' perfect," he grumbled. "This bastard just gave me tinnitus."

The girl that Nekomaru fought against walked to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Hey, old man. Why don't you drop him already? He's not going to kill anyone."

Nekomaru turned to a woman with wild brown hair, gray eyes and tanned skin. She wore a white uniform shirt, but it was unbuttoned, showing her generous cleavage and a red skirt and white shoes.

"We don't know that for certain," Nekomaru replied. "And you said the same about Fuyuhiko and his bodyguard. And even though they have not raised arms against us-"

"Hey, I'm not invisible," Fuyuhiko interjected with an annoyed tone. "I can hear every word you're saying right now."

Nekomaru ignored him to focus on the discussion at hand. "We need to be wary of him, Akane. It is likely he is in possession of a weapon."

"Actually, I'm in possession of weapons right now," Slash said. "It's hanging from my pants."

Nekomaru turned back to him. "What? Are really carrying a weapon?"

"I just said that," Slash deadpanned.

Nekomaru, who was still holding him, turned him around to see that his weapons were indeed hanging from his pants.

"Kukris, huh?" Nekomaru observed the weapons' structure. "These weapons are only used for those with quick footing."

"I do pride myself on my agility," Slash said with a grin.

Peko walked up and adjusted her glasses before looking at the blades. "I've never seen knives of those variety before. They must be quite rare."

"Hey, ease up with the attention," Slash joked. "You'll make my blades blush."

"I doubt inanimate objects are capable of emotion," Byakuya remarked. "Then again, it's not something a failed, homicidal program could understand."

Slash glared at the heir once more. "Don't make me come over there and literally slice every cent out of you."

Byakuya scoffed. "Please. As if an insignificant twit like yourself could stand to the likes of me."

"Then perhaps you would prefer to face an opponent not of this world."

Byakuya nearly jumped the deep tone of voice coming from behind him. Turning around, he saw a boy with a bizarre look. The white and black toned hair, the sole red eye and the scar over his left one, as well as the purple scarf and earrings. Everyone else in the room noticed him.

"Someone should tell this guy that Halloween's not for another few months," Leon whispered.

"Forget Halloween," Mondo whispered back. "He looks ready to go to a convention or something."

The boy pointed towards the two with a heated glare. "Who dares to whisper insults before the God of Ice? Step forward before I unleash terrors beyond your comprehension!"

A dark, menacing aura formed around the boy, making his presence all the more menacing.

"I am Gundam Tanaka! Remember it well, for it is the name of the being who shall rule this world!"

The visiting students stood there, dumbstruck by his introduction.

"A god? Do not make me laugh. All I see is a fool intoxicated by his moronic delusions."

The insult made Gundam flinch and scowl. "Who speaks ill the name of the world's potential ruler? Show yourself this instant!"

"I am behind you, imbecile."

Gundam turned around to see Lala standing behind him, covering part of her face with her hand, locked in a menacing pose.

"You…" Gundam seethed upon seeing the dullahan. "Who are you to doubt my intention of taking this world as my own?"

"If I doubt anything, it is your sanity," Lala replied in a cold tone. "Why should anyone believe someone pitiful as you could attempt to pass himself off as a god."

Gundam narrowed his eyes. "What reason do I have to heed the words of a poorly contructed metallic doll?"

"Do not call me a doll, fool," Lala hissed. "I am Armorknight Dullahan, a fearsome reaper of souls forged in the fires of Danger World."

Gundam scoffed. "Of course you originate from Danger World. Only a wretched hive such as that would have the gall to imitate a reaper of souls."

Growing frustrated, Lala reached out and grasped Gundam's neck, threatening to crush it if he insulted her once more.

"Choose your next words carefully, pretender," she growled. "They may very well be your last."

Everyone stared at the duo, not knowing what they should do in case the situation deteriorates.

"I hope that pile of scrap beats him up," Hiyoko said.

"Shut your trap, runt," Mondo hissed. "And don't call my buddy a pile of scrap either."

"Why not?" Hiyoko scoffed. "She looks like she was built from scrap. And not the good kind either."

Mondo was about to make a retort, but Slash put his hand in front of him.

"I know how to handle these types of people," he said.

Mondo watched as Slash stood near Hiyoko. The dancer noticed him and gave him a dirty look.

"What do you wan- agh!"

Slash pinched Hiyoko's cheek and tugged it, cutting off whatever she was going to say.

"Hey, let her go!" Mahiru snapped, pulling Slash's arm.

"Not until I see her face stretch out," the hunter replied, pulling Hiyoko's cheek some more.

"Owowowowowow!"

He continued to torment the shorter girl and was about to pull on her other cheek, until…

"That is quite enough!"

He stopped at the sound of a elegant voice that had a slight authoritarian tone to it. Looking towards the door, he sees a girl with blond hair and green eyes walk past Gundam and Lala. Somehow, her presence made the two stop their quarrel.

"Look, lady," Slash said, keeping his grasp on Hiyoko's cheek. "I'm kinda in the middle of something here. Can whatever gripe you have with what I'm doing wait until I'm-"

Before he could finish, he suddenly found his hand grabbed by the girl and swiftly took it off Hiyoko's cheek.

"I will not stand by and allow you to abuse my classmate!" she said.

Slash scoffed. "Really? Who do you think you are to boss me around?"

The girl stood before him, a bright aura suddenly appearing around her. "My name is Sonia Nevermind, crown princess of the Kingdom of Novoselic. And I will not stand for your behavior!"

The aura was so bright that everyone in the room shielded eyes from the glow.

"This is nuts!" Leon exclaimed. "How in the hell is she so… radiant?"

"This happens when she has to establish her authority," Mahiru replied. "It's a rare occurance, but it's powerful nonetheless."

Byakuya, who was now wearing sunglasses, simply huffed. "I've seen better."

"We don't give a damn," Mondo sighed.

Soon, the glow around Sonia disappeared and she smiled at Slash. "Please treat my classmates the same way you wish to be treated."

The hunter blinked in response. "What in the sweet hell was that bright-ass light about?"

Sonia tilted her head. "Bright light? What are you talking about?"

"The one that was surrounding your body," Slash said. "The one that came up when you announced your name and title."

"Don't bother asking her about it," Fuyuhiko interrupted. "She doesn't know much either."

Slash turned to the gangster with a defiant look. "How can she not know about it?"

Fuyuhiko glared at him. "Are you hard of hearing or something? Do OI need to repeat myself?"

"You don't need to," Slash replied dryly. "I ignored you the first time."

"Why you…"

Before Fuyuhiko could threaten him, Sonia stood in front of him, blocking his path.

"Please don't resort to violence," she said.

"Why the hell not?" he snorted. "He looks to be real violent, given how he tried to pull Hiyoko's face off."

"Shut your mouth!" the dancer hissed.

"We need to show our underclassmen that we can be friendly with them," the princess said. "Our teacher plainly stated that making bonds with others is the key to enjoying our school life."

"And I completely agree with you, Ms. Sonia!"

The visiting class jumped at the voice of a new person who quickly entered the room and made his way to Sonia's side.

"And who in the hell are you supposed to be?" Slash asked, narrowing his eyes at the boy's pink hair and eyes.

"I'm Kazuichi Soda, the Ultimate Mechanic," he said. "And I stand behind Miss Sonia on the subject with extending our bonds with others. It is a part of our life as students, after all."

All of Class 77 sweatdropped at his declaration.

"This dude just doesn't know when to quit," Akane sighed.

"What do you mean?" Leon asked.

"Surely, you can see it as plain as day," Nekomaru said. "He's only agreeing with Sonia because he has a massive crush on her."

Mondo blinked. "You've gotta be kidding me."

Everyone in the room watched with awkward silence as Kazuichi continued to fawn over Sonia.

"Well, at least it can't get any weirder," Makoto said.

No sooner did he say that, another girl burst into the room, loudly strumming her guitar.

"YEAH! THE ULTIMATE MUSICIAN, IBUKI MIODA IS HERE!"

Byakuya gave Makoto a look of distain. "You just had to say it."

Makoto turned away. "She would've come here anyway…"

Ibuki continued to play her guitar, much to the chagrin to her classmates.

"Ibuki, turn that stupid thing off!" Hiyoko shouted. "You suck at playing it!"

"What are you talking about!" Ibuki shouted. "I've always been awesome with this guitar!"

Not taking anymore of the racket, the boys from 78, along with Lala, left the room.

"Well… those guys seem unique in their own twisted way," Leon said.

"Unique seems to be putting it mildly," Lala stated in a dry tone. "Each and every one of them appears to be disturbed."

"And I thought our class was weird," Slash sighed. "Those people are clearly freaks."

"Dude, I don't think you should be saying that," Mondo said. "They have three people in there that are fully capable of kicking your ass to the other side of the equator."

"Do you even know what the equator is?" Byakuya asked the biker.

Mondo scratched the back of his head before answering. "It's the… that thing that seperates the North Pole and South Pole from each other."

The progeny blinked in surprise, then adjusted his glasses. "Crudely put, but yes, that's the gist of it."

Slash stretched his arms and groaned in frustration. "This blows. I need to fight someone or something." He turned to his buddy with a pleading look. "Makoto, I've been unsatisfied since our battle with Richie Rich over there-"

"I beg your pardon?" Byakuya growled.

"And I'm looking for someone who can give it to me," Slash replied. "I'm so desperate that I'll take Babe Ruth and Clint Eastwood on."

Makoto looked at him strangely, then turned to Leon and Mondo.

"I guessing I'm Babe Ruth," the baseball star said.

"What, and I'm Clint Eastwood?" the biker asked indignantly. "When has that guy ever rode a motorcycle?"

"He rode one in Coogan's Bluff," Leon said. "You know, the scene where he chased an escaped through Central Park on a motorcycle."

"I've never seen that movie," Mondo admitted.

Byakuya sighed. "Don't tell me you've never seen any of Clint Eastwood's films. Have you been living under a rock?"

Mondo glared at him. "No, but my boot's going to live up your ass if you make another remark like that."

"Oh, how original," Byakuya mocked.

The two began to argue while Makoto, Slash, Leon and Lala stood there and watched.

"My master should cease this mindless prattling and strike the fool where he stands," the dullahan said.

"I'm with you on that, sister," Slash agreed.

"Excuse me."

The trio looked to the right the hall and saw a girl with pink hair holding a handheld game system. She stared at Makoto and Slash intently.

"Is there something you want?" Makoto asked.

The girl smiled. "Yes, there is. I would like to buddyfight with you."

* * *

 **KS: Well, well, looks like a familiar and well-loved character who didn't deserve what happened to her will make an appearance. You know the one: a cute, adrorable, plush-faced character that should not be harmed. At all. (silent) I wasn't being subtle about it, was I? Anyway, a small shout out to** **Mr. Haziq regarding his comment about Byakuya. Don't worry, I already got a good idea of who his Buddy will be. And between you and me... she's a real witch. (winks and clicks tongue) Anyway, I'll try to keep this updated as frequently as I can, but I'm probably going to be swamped with schoolwork. Goodnight, everybody.**

 **Edit: There's a poll on which world the character should use. You guys can pick which one will suit her best.**

* * *

 **Preview of Next Chapter**

Fuyuhiko: I'm telling you, your friend made one hell of a mistake fighting her.

Leon: Why would you say that?

Sonia: When it comes to gaming, she is always on another level. I fear the worst for your friend.

Leblanc: You're kind of selling him short a bit. (looks to her buddy) Sayaka, are you doing alright?

Sayaka: (has a dark aura surrounding her) I'm fine.

 **To be continued in Chapter 8: Here Comes a New Challenger**


	9. Chapter 8: Here Comes a New Challenger

**KS: Hey, folks. Did you miss me? I know I did. And I also know that you missed some of this. Well, I've kept you waiting long enough. Here we are with more Despair Revolt. Makoto has met with a certain girl who wishes to fight him. On top of that, I know just the world for her to fight for. Enjoy~.**

* * *

( **Theme: "Mighty Long Fall" by ONE OK ROCK** )

( **Intsrumental** ) The screen opens to Makoto standing in a empty landscape, then zooms in on his face, then switches to Slash, who is in a similar landscape, but in all black.

( **When we met, the pain stood still, it was us** ) Cuts to Sayaka standing with her arms behind her back, then to Leon, sitting on the ground, and finally to Mondo, is standing in with his hands in his pockets while Chihiro stands behind him, looking up.

( **Then suddenly it's where you go** ) Cuts to Taka standing while looking down on the ground, then cuts to Celeste standing with her hands pressed together, eyes closed.

( **The system blew, I knew** ) Cuts to Hina laying on the ground and circling it with her finger, then to Sakura, who stands with her arms crossed.

( **This side of me, I want a little more** ) Cuts to Byakuya and Toko standing back to back, the former with his arms crossed and the latter looking down, then to Hiro, who looks at his crystal ball and ends with Hifumi sitting down, holding his sketchboard.

( **But inside it seems, I'm just a little boy** ) Cuts to Kyoko standing with her arms crossed, then the screen glitches out to reveal Junko and Mukuro standing over a button. Junko presses it with a deranged look.

( **Nothing else!** ) The ground beneath Makoto crumbles, causing him to fall into the abyss.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall w** **hen you thought love was the top (Whoa)** ) The scene shifts to Makoto running in the empty landscape, with Slash doing the same in the alternate plane.

( **Oh no, it's a wake up call when your life went into shock (Whoa, whoa)** ) The scene moves to the the others with their respective buddy monsters staring at the crumbling walls.

( **It seems like gravity keeps pulling us back down** ) Rewinds to when Makoto is about to fall, when Slash grabs his hand, saving him.

( **Don't go! It's a mighty long fall when you know time is up** ) Slash pulls Makoto to the edge, where his classmates stand before him. He gives them a smile of determination.

( **Don't go** ) Makoto takes a card from his pocket and raises it in the air.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Scene shifts to members of Ultimate Despair, then to Makoto, who lowers the card to his chest.

( **D-D-D-D-Don't go** ) Makoto closes his eyes, then the scene shifts to Monokuma, standing behind a purple crystal.

( **Don't go** ) The card glows and covers Makoto, turning him into Excalibur as the screen fades to white.

( **Closing intstrumental** ) The screen stops glowing to reveal the various world flags on the ground.

 **Chapter 8:** **Here Comes a New Challenger**

* * *

Makoto stared at the girl who had challenged him out of the blue. He had no idea what her intentions were, or what her fighting capabilities are. On top of that, he didn't get the name of his would-be challenger. He figured he could get an answer to one of those questions.

"I don't think we've met before. Could you tell us your name?" he asked.

The girl gasped and blushed in embarrassment. "Oh my God. I was so excited to fight you that I forgot to introduce myself." Taking a breath, she composed herself. "My name is Chiaki Nanami, the Ultimate Gamer."

This was interesting news to Makoto. "You're a gamer? What kind of genres do you play?"

"Oh, I play a lot of them," Chiaki answered with a gleam in her eye. "In fact, I've had a knack for playing them since I was eight years old."

"Really?" Makoto was amazed to hear that. "What was the first system you played?"

Chiaki thought for a moment before answering. "I played with Nintendo Entertainment System."

"Original or Super?" Makoto pressed.

"Definitely the original," Chiaki answered. "I played Metroid, Master Blaster and Contra on it."

"That's amazing," Makoto said. "I played on Sega Genesis when I was young. Me and my sister loved playing Super Street Fighter II on it."

"Really?!" Chiaki explained, getting up in Makoto's face with a gleam in her eye. "What's your favorite character?"

"Uh…" Makoto turned away, taken aback from how close the gamer was standing next to him. "I like… Chun-Li."

As if it were removed by an eraser, Chiaki's smile vanished from her features, replaced by a look of distain and disapproval. Makoto was clueless as to what could have caused the change in expression, but Slash and Leon had a good idea what it was.

"He doesn't realize it, but just broke one of the taboos of man," the baseball star whispered.

"You mind filling me in?" the hunter whispered back. "I'm getting a general idea of what's happening, but I could use some extra info."

"Okay, here's the rundown," Leon said. "There are certain things we men should ever say to a girl. Actually, there are a lot things men can't every say to girl, but three in particular stand at the top. The first: a girl's bra size. There will always be a girl who feel envious about other girl's chest, either because their's is smaller than the other's."

Slash nodded. "Interesting. Could you provide an example of that?"

"I'd be happy to," Leon answered. "Let's say that one girl is a C-cup. Not too small, but not too big either. Call it a middle ground, if you will. Now we bring in another girl, only she's rocking G-cups. That's sure to bring the envy out of any girl."

Slash widened his eyes in shock. "G-cups? I imagine that'll be murder on that girl's back."

"Yeah, I can imagine," Leon responded. "But we're getting off topic. The next thing a man should never say to a girl is their attitude."

"I can see that as a legit taboo," Slash said. "Lay it on me."

"With pleasure. It's a known fact that one out of five men will encounter a girl who is, for a lack of a better word, a total bitch. There's plenty of girls who have attitude, but the last thing you want to do is call her out on it. You'll be lucky if she slaps you so hard, you hit the ground."

"A slap is nothing," Slash scoffed. "The last time I called out a girl on her attitude, I got stabbed."

"What the f- you got stabbed?!" Leon exclaimed in shock, gaining everyone's attention, which included Mondo and Byakuya who were arguing earlier.

"Slash… you were stabbed?" Makoto asked with concern.

"I was lightly stabbed," Slash replied. "The girl couldn't wield a knife to save her damn life. I wanted to kill her, but decided she wasn't worth the effort."

"Jesus… what kind of fucked-up world were you living in?" Mondo asked.

"Virtual World," the hunter answered.

Chiaki stared at him with confusion. "Wait, don't you mean Digi-"

"No, I do not," Slash interrupted. "It is called Virtual World."

"Oh. Well, back to what I was getting at…" Chiaki turned to Makoto, her distainful look returning to her face. "You said you play as Chun-Li, correct."

"Y-Yeah, I did," Makoto said.

Chiaki leaned closer towards him. "Tell what exactly do you like about her."

Makoto racked his brain for a good answer. He needed to give a reason as to why Chun-Li was his favorite character in Street Fighter, but he also had to make sure it was a reason that Chiaki wouldn't shun him over.

"Um… well, I like how fast her kicks are," he said sheepishly.

Chiaki raised an eyebrow. "Her kicks?"

Makoto nodded. "Yeah, they're really fast. And they can knock people into a wall… or so I've heard."

Chiaki stared at him for a few seconds, taking in what he said. Makoto began to sweat bullets, wondering if the gamer thought he was lying about Chun-Li being his favorite character in Street Fighter.

"Hey, are you going to fill me in on that third thing guys should never mention?" Slash whispered to Leon.

"The third thing is mentioning any girl characters from video games that look more attractive than a real girl," Leon whispered back. "This is mostly towards those more… developments."

It didn't take long for Slash to pick up what he meant. "T and A?"

"Well, some go for A more than T, but I digress," Leon replied. "The point is, out of all the three taboos, that one stands at the top. I think Makoto was just lucky enough to avoid it."

"I don't think it was luck," Slash replied. "It looked more like a spur of the moment."

Makoto continued sweating under Chiaki's scrutinizing gaze, hoping she would accept his answer. However…

" **Chiaki, are you seriously doing this again? You're gonna give him a heart attack.** "

The gamer flinched at the

"Huh?" Makoto was snapped out of his sweating session when he heard a voice from thin air. He immediately knew what it was. "It's like when I first heard Leblanc."

Chiaki reached into her uniform pocked and took out her Core Deck Case, which was bright pink.

"Yuno, I'm kind of in the middle of something," she said. "Could you please wait until I'm done?"

" **I'm only getting a glimpse of who we'll be fighting. There's no harm in that.** "

Before she could protest even further, a huge gust of wind came out of her case. Everyone in the vicinity braced themselves from the sudden storm.

"Where the hell is that wind coming from?" Mondo yelled.

"Isn't it obvious?" Byakuya shot back. "Or are your eyes as effective as your brain?"

"I'd kick your ass for that remark, but this wind is crazy!" Mondo yelled again.

A column of wind appeared beside Chiaki, and it its place was a young man with mess black hair and amber eyes. He wore a pitch-black shirt with a high collar and long sleeves, which had brown leather that covers the wrists and upper arms, light brown pants that are cut below his knees with a pair of brown belts that cross each other around his waist and brown boots. On the right side of his waist was gold-colored book that was held in a pouch.

"Whoa… that's one way to make an entrance," Leon said in awe.

Byakuya scoffed and adjusted his glasses. "If you ask me, he's just showing off."

"Somehow, I doubt you're one to talk about showing off," Mondo grumbled.

Slash stared intensely at the young man standing beside Chiaki, who looked flustered from his appearance. He felt an urge to fight him on the spot, as he sensed that the gamer's buddy was quite powerful.

"Is that your buddy?" Makoto asked.

Chiaki nodded, all of the tension from earlier faded away. "Yes, he is. This is Wind Mage, Yuno."

Yuno waved his hand. "Nice to meet you all."

Makoto nodded. "Same here. I'm Makoto Naegi, the Ultimate Lucky Student."

Hearing his title made Yuno flinch. "Did you say you are the Ultimate Lucky Student?"

Makoto blinked at his reaction. "I did say that. Why do you ask?"

Yuno turned away and sighed. "Chiaki and I have a classmate with that similar title. I just find him, for a lack of a better word, disturbing."

Chiaki frowned. "Oh Yuno, don't say that about Nagito. Ms. Yukizome doesn't like it when we say bad things about our classmates."

"Well, if there was anything positive to say about Nagito, I would have said it by now," Yuno protested. "But so far, I just find his preaching about hope more than a little unnerving. Not to mention his phases of self-deprication, which I can barely tolerate. On that note, I'm sure Ms. Yukizome won't know about me saying these things about Nagito… huh?"

Yuno noticed that the boys had various reactions while he spoke ill of his classmate. Makoto's eyes widened in shock, Leon looked to the side while scratching his head, Mondo sighed while lowering his head and Byakuya stared at him distainfully. However, it was Slash that got his attention, pointing right behind him.

"What is up with you people?" he asked. "Do I have something on my face?"

Chiaki looked beside him and flinched. "Um, Yuno…"

"What is it?" he asked.

Chiaki gulped. "Ms. Yukizome wants a word with you."

"Don't be ridiculous," Yuno replied. "She's not even here- ow."

Yuno felt his cheek being pulled lightly, but it still hurt. The one responsible was none other than Chisa, who had a disapproving look on her face.

"Yuno, what did I tell you about saying bad things about your classmates?" she said with a stern tone.

"I can make an exception for Nagito," Yuno replied blankly. "As a matter of fact, I can also make an exception with Hiyoko because she's an annoying little cu-"

Chisa pulled his cheek harder. "Don't say that about Hiyoko. And don't use such a rude word to describe her."

"Would you rather I call her a female dog?" Yuno asked.

"Yuno," Chisa said in a warning tone. "Don't make me take confiscate your 3DS again."

The threat did nothing to deter Yuno. "You know, I wouldn't have to speak ill of her if you did your job as a teacher."

Chisa looked at him with annoyance, then pulled his other cheek. Yuno once again looked indifferent to the ordeal.

"Ms. Yukizome, could you please let go of his cheeks now?" Chiaki pleaded. "I was challenging Makoto to a Buddyfight."

Chisa let go of Yuno's cheeks upon hearing the words from the gamer's mouth. "You challenged someone to a Buddyfight and I wasn't around to see it?" She slumps down in depression. "Oh, what kind of teacher am I to not keep tabs on my students' affairs?"

Everyone sweatdropped at the woman's melodrama.

"Okay, ignoring the crazy woman for the time being," Slash said. "How about we get on with the fight?"

"You mean, right now?" Yuno asked.

Slash scoffed. "No, not right now. We gotta get prepared first. We should set up a time and place to do it."

"We could meet in the courtyard," Makoto proposed.

Slash grinned widely hearing that. "Oh, I love it. The very place we defeated that elitest prick sounds like a badass spot to battle."

Byakuya's eyebrow twitched at being called an elitist prick.

"It's settled then," Chiaki said. "We'll meet you in the courtyard at… is noon okay for you?"

"Yeah, we can see you at that time," Makoto said.

"Definitely," Slash added. "Noon is good."

Chiaki smiled. "Great. We'll see you then. Come on, Yuno. Let's prepare for our fight."

Yuno turned to the still-despondent Chisa. "What about her?"

"She'll be fine," the gamer replied. "We need to get set up. It's 11:45."

Yuno shrugged. "If you say so."

The two walked away with Chiaki waving to Makoto, who returned the gesture.

"Hey Makoto," Slash said. "We should give your new deck a thorough look over if we're gonna beat those two."

"Quite the big 'if' there," Byakuya snarked. "Maybe your luck will run out once you face them in battle. If that happens, I wish to have a front row seat to your downfall."

"Um… didn't you get your ass kicked by them a few weeks back?" Leon asked, trying to hold back a grin.

Byakuya swiftly turned around and glared at the baseball star. "It was luck and nothing more, you fool. The imbecile stated it himself near the end of the fight."

"Right before he proceeded to kick your ass in said fight," Mondo added, not bothing to hide his grin.

Byakuya shifted his hateful gaze towards the biker. "Does everyone know that I lost to this unremarkable commoner?"

"Are you kidding? The fight was talked about on every social media platform," Leon said. "Well, except Tumblr. It's practically desolate over there."

"Enough talk!" Slash announced. "We gotta get prepared! Let's go, Makoto! Back to our classroom!"

"What?"

Makoto had no time to react as he was carried against his will and rushed off to the classroom in Slash's arms, leaving the others gobsmacked.

"Well, that was random," Leon said.

* * *

-Back at the classroom-

Makoto was at his desk, looking over his cards carefully with Slash sitting next to him.

"Don't think about it too hard, man," the hunter said. "This is literally all I came with when I arrived in this world. There's not a lot of options for you."

"I know," Makoto replied. "But there's still a lot I don't know about this deck and I wish to learn about it."

"Well, I had no idea that trial by fire was so popular among humans," Slash chuckled. "But seriously, though, we should stay on our toes. We don't have any idea of what Chiaki is capable of. It's very likely she'll throw us off guard."

Makoto shuffled through his deck some more. "If that happens, we'll deal with it together."

Slash let out a deep sigh. "Kid, you are way too optimistic for your own good."

As the two conversed with each other, Sayaka watched Makoto with a longing look in her eye.

"Oh, how I wish I could tell him how I feel~ But I'm such a timid little maiden that I'll probably trip on my words if I talk to him."

Sayaka flinched at the perfect imitation of her voice and swiftly turned to whoever was responsible. It was none other than LeBlanc.

"Makoto, I want you to hold me in your arms and swing me around," the deceiver continued, mimicking her buddy's voice. "I just feel so empty without-"

Sayaka threw her pencil at LeBlanc, cutting her off.

"Hey, that could have taken out my eye," she said.

Sayaka ignored her and continued to watch Makoto. "Look at him, so focused. I really want to encourage him, but I feel like I'll just distract him."

"What makes you say that?" LeBlanc asked.

The idol let out a sigh. "We haven't really talked in a long time apart from us reuiniting here. But it looks like he's preparing for a buddyfight with someone. I just don't want to get in the way."

LeBlanc shook her head and began to pat Sayaka's. "Come on, Saya. There's no sense in thinking like that. You've known Makoto since middle school and he's always looked out for you. Even at times when others were against you, he would stand by you no matter what. Maybe it's time you did the same."

Sayaka looked at the mage for a few seconds, then began to laugh, much to her confusion.

"What? What did I say?"

"Of all the times to be encouraging, and you choose do it now," Sayaka said between laughs. "Why is it that you're a troll in one moment and heartwarming in another."

LeBlanc shrugged and smiled. "It's all part of my charm. Anyway, you should check up on Makoto. He's gonna need some positive reinforcent before he goes up against Chiaki."

Sayaka stopped laughing when she heard the name. "Wait, Chiaki? As in, Chiaki Nanami?"

"Yeah, her," LeBlanc replied. "Why, have you heard of her?"

"She's widely renowned in the gaming community," Sayaka said. "And her abilities as a fighter are nothing short of legendary. I need to let Makoto know about what she's capable."

The pop sensation jumped out of her seat and headed off to Makoto's desk, leaving LeBlanc bewildered.

"I swear, that girl is a handful."

* * *

The time has finally arrive. Makoto and Slash walked over to the courtyard where Chiaki and Yuno stood, waiting for the two to arrive.

"You made it," the gamer said excitedly.

"We've been waiting for you," the wizard added.

"Come on, as if we'd miss out on an opportunity like this," Slash said. "Especially now that we've gotten a better idea of who we're dealing with."

"And we've made sure to prepare accordingly," Makoto said, bringing his case out. "This won't be an easy fight for you."

Chiaki smiled and brought out her case. "Good. I like a challenge." She tossed her case in the air and spun around.

" **One life is all that needed, because like this fight, you're bound to lose it!** " Chiaki brought her case to her head and it transformed into a pink and white helmet/VR headset with the blue gem placed on top. " **Luminize, L33T Roster!** "

Yuno let out a sigh. "I keep telling you that name is stupid. Why not change it?"

"Because I like to think that all my cards are elite," Chiaki replied. "Now hush up and get ready to fight."

Yuno brought out his book and opened it, causing wind to form around him. "Very well. Shall we raise the flag?"

"With pleasure," Chiaki replied. "I fight for Magic World!"

"And I fight for Virtual World!" Makoto called out as Slash lifted the flag while letting out a battle cry.

 _ **Makoto: Life 10, Gauge 3**_

 _ **Chiaki: Life 10, Gauge 3**_

"I'll go first," Makoto said, drawing a card from his deck, putting into his gauge and drawing another card.

 _ **Makoto's Gauge: 4**_

"For my first move, I call Viral Dragon Rogue, Sasser to the center position."

Makoto threw a card to the center, and its place appeared a thin dragon covered from head to toe in black and green armor with many scratches on the chest plate. On the dragon's arms were mounted guns.

 _ **Viral Dragon Rogue, Sasser**_

 _ **Size: 2**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 3000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense 2000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attribute: Viral Dragon**_

"Nice monster," Yuno called out. "Do you think it will make a dent?"

"You'll see soon enough," Makoto replied. "Sasser, attack the fighter!"

The dragon let out a roar as it charged towards towards Chiaki, aiming its guns and firing directly at her, damaging her.

 _ **Chiaki's Life: 8**_

 _ **Makoto: End of Move**_

"That was good," Chiaki said with a smirk. "But I will do you one better."

 _ **Chiaki: Your Move**_

"I draw," Chiaki said, drawing a card from her gadget. She added a card to the gauge and added another to her hand from the deck.

 _ **Chiaki's Gauge: 4**_

"To kick things off, I'll cast Key of Solomon: First Volume." Chiaki uses a spell and two more cards are added to her gauge.

 _ **Chiaki's Gauge: 6**_

"Next, I call Sealed Master, Zustein to the right."

Chiaki threw a card to the right position, causing a man with white hair and red eyes to appear. He wore a dark blue bodysuit under a blue coat and had his hands and feet shackled.

 _ **Sealed Master, Zustein**_

 _ **Size: 2**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 4000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense 2000**_

 _ **World: Magic World**_

 _ **Attribute: Wizard/Hundred Demons**_

Makoto widened his eyes in shock. "She has a Hundred Demon in her deck. There's no way we can underestimate her."

Slash looked at him. "Why, is a Hundred Demon powerful?"

"They are," Makoto replied. "They're strong on their own, but if you have a deck that's solely composed of Hundred Demons, you could be unstoppable… at least, that's what I heard."

Stretching his bound arms, Zustein turned to Chiaki. "Unlike those before, you had the courtesy to summon me first. I am grateful, but you still must pay the toll."

Chiaki nodded. "I know."

Zustein extended his hand towards Chiaki, draining some of her life.

 _ **Chiaki's Life: 7**_

"Hey, what gives?" Slash called out. "Why is that dude taking your life right after you summoned him?"

"It's his condition of his call," Chiaki answered. "Anytime I bring Zustein out, I need to give up a life. But that's not all."

She took out two cards from her deck and added them to the gauge, increasing her total.

 _ **Chiaki's Gauge: 8**_

Slash widened his eyes in shock. "Oh my sweet fuck. Your gauge gets a boost in addition to summoning him?"

Chiaki smiled. "That's right. I give a little, and I get a lot. It's what I like about Zustein."

The Hundred Demon turned to her and let out a rare smile. "At least you have the courtesy to appreciate what I do for you."

"I always have. Next, I call Dragowizard, Burning Wand to the left."

Chiaki threw a card to the left position, and in its place appeared a red dragon wearing a blue cloak with green lines and a matching hat.

 _ **Dragowizard, Burning Wand**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 3000**_

 _ **Critical: 1**_

 _ **Defense: 2000**_

 _ **World: Magic World**_

 _ **Attribute: Wizard/Fire Power**_

"I'm ready to light 'em up!" he said enthusiastically.

"Finally, I equip Tome of Sorcery, Almandel."

Chiaki holds up a card that quickly turns into a white and gold book.

 _ **Tome of Sorcery, Almandel**_

 _ **Type: Item**_

 _ **Power: 1000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **World: Magic World**_

 _ **Attribute:**_ _**72 Pillars/Weapon**_

Makoto narrowed his eyes at the book. " _I should be careful. If she summoned that item, then it's like she has a monster with the 72 Pillars attribute._ "

"Now, Zustein, attack Sasser!"

Letting out a mighty battle cry, the wizard charged towards the mechanical dragon and and wrapped it in his chains. Once it was bound, he channeled dark magic into it, destroying it.

"Burning Wand, you're up!"

The Dragowizard jumped with excitement and lobbed a fire ball at Makoto, slightly damaging him.

 _ **Makoto's Life: 9**_

"And now, I attack with Almandel!"

Chiaki channeled the magic energy from the tome and fired it at Makoto, dealing additional damage to him

 _ **Makoto's Life: 7**_

 _ **Chiaki: End of Move**_

"She's just warming up," Makoto said to himself. "I better not let her rattle me."

* * *

Class 77-B walked around the school for some fresh air, engaing in idle conversation.

"I have a question," Akane said. "What's the required amount of hot sauce you should put on meat?"

"Ugh, don't you ever think about anything aside from food?" Hiyoko groaned. "We don't have your demon metabolism."

Akane smirked. "Well, if you ate as much as I did, you wouldn't be so scrawny."

"Hmph! If I ate as much as you, I'll get fat," Hiyoko shot back. "Or worse, I'll get huge tits like yours."

"And what's wrong with getting a rack like mine?" Akane asked defensively, crossing her arms under her bust.

"Two things," Hiyoko said. "They're murder on your back and it'll give gross pervs more incentive to leer at you. Luckily, I don't need cow fat on my chest to get attention."

"Bold of you to assume anyone would wanna look at your ugly mug," Fuyuhiko deadpanned.

A tick appeared on Hiyoko's head upon hearing the gangster's insult. "Say that to my face, punk!"

"I would, but I'm not in the mood to gouge my eyes out," Fuyuhiko replied with a chuckle. "Maybe you should check the mirror."

"Don't tease her like that," Mahiru chided. "Hiyoko's sensitive about these kinds of things."

"Yeah, as a rash!" Ibuki laughed.

Mahiru shot a stern glare at the musician. "Don't encourage him."

They made their way to the courtyard, where they immediately saw Makoto fighting Chiaki.

"Hey, didn't they visit our classroom a few hours ago?" Akane asked.

"It would appear so," Gundam replied. "Our esteemed gamer and her turbulent companion has engaged in combat with the unremarkable boy and his violent ally."

"You know, with the way you talk, you ought to be in a play or something," Kazuchi said dryly.

Sonia smiled. "I think the way he talks his mysterious, yet poetic."

Kazuchi turned away. "Anyone could be mysterious and poetic if they wanted to…"

"Someone sure is jealous," Akane snickered. "But anyway, it looks like Chiaki's gonna grind him into dust."

"We shouldn't be so quick to write him off," Nekomaru advised. "Perhaps he has some potential we do not know about."

"I suppose the only way of knowing is to see where this fight goes," Peko said.

* * *

 _ **Makoto: Your Move**_

Makoto repeated the process of drawing a card from his deck, adding a card to his gauge and drawing another card.

 _ **Makoto's Gauge: 5**_

"What should I use next?" Makoto wondered. "Zustein isn't much of a threat at the moment, Burning Wand has an ability that can reduce my life by one point."

"If that's the case, then we should take out that lizard first," Slash suggested. "But what about the book she's holding? Is that special?"

"That's Tome of Sorcery, Almandel," Makoto said. "It will allow her to call a monster with the 72 Pillars attribute. There's no telling what she'll do if she does that."

"Hmm. That does sound bad," Slash replied. "Any chance you've got a card that can destroy items in your deck?"

Makoto looked at his current hand. "No, I don't have a card with that function. Looks like I'll have to make due with what I have. I call Digital Paladin, Sophos to the right, Digital Lancer, Comodo to the center and Data Druid, McAfee to the left.

Makoto placed three cards in all the spots in front of him. One the left was a young man with short black and gray eyes wearing orange-colored armor and wielded a short sword.

 _ **Digital Paladin, Sophos**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 3000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 3000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attributes: Anti-Virus**_

At the center and another young man with green hair tied in a ponytail and blue eyes wearing black and gold armor that left his forearms exposed. In his hands was a long spear with a curved blade at the end.

 _ **Digital Lancer, Comodo**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 3000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 2000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attributes: Anti-Virus**_

Finally, at the left position, there was a pale woman with red hair and purple eyes, wearing gray bikini armor and holding a black sphere in her hand, looking at it with a bored expression.

 _ **Data Druid, McAfee**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 3000**_

 _ **Critical: 1**_

 _ **Defense: 1000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attributes: Anti-Virus**_

"I'll start by activating McAfee's skill," Makoto said. "My giving up one life, she can immediately destroy an item you are currently using. Which means your tome is going to be scrap paper."

Chiaki visibly flinched at the threat. "Uh-oh."

McAfee took some of Makoto's life and channelled it into her sphere.

 _ **Makoto's Life: 6**_

"Wow, he's clearly shaken up," Hiyoko snickered. "He's so intimidated by Chiaki's power, he's giving up his own life points."

"Are you hard of hearing?" Fuyuhiko shot back. "He's giving up a life to destroy that book Chiaki's holding."

"So she loses her book," Hiyoko replied nonchalently. "It's not like it will be her downfall."

Now that the sphere was powered up, McAfee fired the energy at Chiaki's tome, destroying it completely.

"Aw man," the gamer sighed. "Well, it's no big loss since I don't have a 72 Pillars monster in my hand."

"Is that something you really should be mentioning in front of your opponent?" Yuno asked.

Chiaki pouted towards him. "It's not like it really matters."

Makoto pointed towards Burning Wand. "Sophos, attack Burning Wand."

The knight dashed towards the Dragowizard, deflecting all of the fireballs it shot at him. Once he reached him, he cut the dragon in half, destroying him.

"Now McAfee, attack Zustein."

The druid charged energy into her ball, then fired a linear beam of black energy towards the wizard, destroying him.

"Next, I pay two of my gauge and cast Data Boost on Comodo."

Makoto threw a card towards the Lancer and green data lines surrounded him, increasing his strength.

"This spell allows me to add 2000 power and two critical points to a monster with the Anti-Virus attribute, bring his total to 4000 power and 4 critical. Now Comodo, attack the fighter!"

The lancer dashed towards Chiaki and threw his spear at her, causing moderate damage.

 _ **Chiaki's Life: 3**_

"Holy crap, he brought her to 3 life points!" Kazuichi exclaimed. "I think he'll actually beat her!"

"Maybe we were too quick to write him off," Akane said. "This fight looks as good as done, and the odds are in Makoto's favor."

"Oh, I honestly doubt it's that black and white."

The group's attention was drawn to a lanky boy with pale skin, gray-green eyes and wavy white hair. He wears the school uniform, but underneath the jacket was a red and green vest.

"Nagito, what the hell are you doing here?" Fuyuhiko asked.

The now-named Nagito let out a small grin. "I'm sure we've all known Chiaki long enough to know that she wouldn't allow herself to be backed into a corner like this. She always has trick or more up her sleeve, as we've all experienced battling her."

An air of depression hung over the group upon hearing his words.

"We don't need a freakin' reminder, man," Kazuichi groaned. "We know we got beaten by her."

"Also, why are you looking so smug?" Hiyoko asked with a scathing tone and glare to match. "If I remember correctly, you got your ass kicked by Chiaki in a fight just like the rest of us."

Nagito simply chuckled. "Oh, I haven't forgotten. In fact, I relish that someone as skilled as her even bothered to battle a waste of skin such as myself."

Fuyuhiko sighed and facepalmed. "And there he goes with the casual self-deprecation. Why the hell do we put up with him?"

"We've been in the same class as him and you're asking that now?" Mahiru said with exasperation.

Fuyuhiko shrugged. "I just felt like it. Anyway, what are you rambling about this time, Nagito?"

"Oh, I really don't need to explain myself," Nagito said. "I'll just allow you to see for yourself and remind yourself of why- ugh."

Nagito was cut off when a foreign object hit him in the head. Specifically, a baseball.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Kazuichi asked.

"My bad! I'm still working on my pitching!"

Everyone turned to Leon, who stood a few feet away from them with an awkward grin. Standing next to him was Sayaka and LeBlanc.

"Hey, it's that porcupine-looking prick from earlier," Hiyoko said. "And who's the blue bimbo next to him?"

"That's not a bimbo," Ibuki said. "That's Sayaka Maizono. She's a very popular idol."

"Good to know, but I was referring to the other bimbo," Hiyoko replied, point to LeBlanc.

"Is everything that comes out of your mouth an insult?" Akane asked.

Hiyoko shot a dry look at the gymnast. "What do you think, meat lover?"

The trio walked over where Class 77-B stood. Sayaka and LeBlanc immediately introduced themselves, and the others did the same, even though Hiyoko added a snide comment to her introduction.

"So, might I ask what's the occasion for this get together?" LeBlanc asked.

"One of your comrades is engaged in a fierce battle of wits with one of our own," Gundam said. "The young boy has whittled her life to but three points. Victory is surely within his grasp, but this ivory naysayer believes that the young maiden is merely biding her time for a counterattack."

Naturally, the three new arrivals had no idea what they just heard.

"Uh… anyone wanna translate all that?" Leon asked.

"He's saying that your boy brought Chiaki down to three life points and appear to have this match in the bag, but this schmuck over here thinks otherwise," Kazuichi said in summary.

Sayaka turned to Makoto with concern. "I hope my advice works for him."

Slash was grinning widely as he saw Chiaki meager life point count. "We've got this in the bag, man. All we need to do is knock out those last points and we're golden!" He pumped his fist into the air, but quickly noticed Makoto still had a serious expression. "Hey Makoto, drop the stone face, man. We're gonna win this-"

"It's too early to celebrate," Makoto said bluntly. "She's got something planned. I can feel it."

Slash blinked. "You feel it? What's there to feel?"

Makoto narrowed his eyes. "She's going to hit us with everything she's got."

 _ **Makoto: End of Move**_

 _ **Chiaki: Your Move**_

"Draw." Chiaki repeated the process as she did before, adding a card to her gauge after drawing a new card, then drew another.

 _ **Chiaki's Gauge: 9**_

"It looks like this has gone on long enough," Chiaki said. "Makoto, I have to say. It's been fun battling you, but I'm going to have to pull the plug on you."

"Pull the plug? What the hell is she going on about?" Slash asked.

"We're about to find out," Makoto replied.

Chiaki raised her hand up in the air. "Now, without further ado, I buddy call to the center, Wind Mage, Yuno!"

Upon hearing his name, Yuno used the wind to launch himself into the air, slowly decending onto the center position as the wind slowed his fall.

 _ **Wind Mage, Yuno**_

 _ **Size: 2**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 5000**_

 _ **Critical: 4**_

 _ **Defense: 4000**_

 _ **World: Magic World**_

 _ **Attributes: Wizard/Wind**_

 _ **Chiaki's Life: 4**_

"That windy guy is her buddy?" Leon asked. "He looks tough, but that lancer on Makoto's center can easily take him down."

"Don't be so sure," LeBlanc said. "Take a look at the lancer's defense and compare it to that wizard's power."

Leon brought out his phone and pressed on an application and showed him the layout of the field. Immediately he saw the difference between Comodo's defense and Yuno's power.

"Oh, that's bad. The difference is about 1000. He's going to make mincemeat out the lancer."

Nagito chuckled. "Oh, I believe the spear wielder is the least of your friend's worries at the moment."

Leon turned to him. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Nagito pointed at Yuno. "Just watch. You'll soon see what I mean."

Makoto endured the increasing gusts of wind, feeling like he could be blown away like a sheet of paper. "This power… this is nothing like any other wizard I've seen before!"

"Somehow, I doubt this is him at a hundred percent," Slash said. "Whoever's in charge of predicting the weather should re-evaluate their analysis."

Chiaki grinned as the wind blew around. "Yuno is quite the sight, isn't he? Me and him have won fights left and right. It was good for a while…" Chiaki smile faded. "But it soon dulled. Winning doesn't feel as great as it used to. I guess this is another victory I pull out of the hat."

Yuno turned back to his buddy. "Chiaki, are you sure?"

The gamer nodded. "I'm sure." She turned her gaze towards Makoto. "I bet you feel safe having three monsters to protect you, but I'm afraid that they won't do you any good."

"What are you talking about?" Makoto called out, trying to make himself heard despite the heavy winds.

Chiaki extended an arm towards her gauge. "Makoto, I'm sure you're aware that Magic World users don't rely on brute force to win their fights. We use the effects of our monsters and spells to get the win we desire. And you are about to see how I've won all of mine."

Chiaki snapped her fingers, and four of her gauge flew into Yuno, adding more strength to the winds.

"By paying four of my gauge, I activate Yuno's skill," Chiaki said. "This allows him to take out every monster on my opponent's field."

Yuno lifted his grimoire, making the pages flip on their own. The wind grew stronger as the monsters on Makoto's field braced themselves but to no avail. The harsh winds soon began to surround them, causing massive damage to all of them.

Sophos was the first to go, letting out a howl of anguish as he was destroyed.

"No! Sophos!" Makoto cried out.

Comodo was next, but he did not allow himself to go out without a fight. Driving his spear into the ground, he held on for dear life, but the winds claimed him as well.

"Comodo!" Makoto yelled.

McAfee attempted to use her orb's power to protect her from the wind, but it was all for naught as the deadly gusts did away with her as well.

Makoto's heart sank as his last monster was destroyed. "McAfee…"

Chiaki let out a sigh. "It's a shame, really. I was hoping to have a good fight… but it looks like history has a way of repeating itself. Yuno, attack the fighter."

Using his magic, Yuno created a dagger with the wind he wielded and shot it towards Makoto, hitting him in his chest. He staggered for a bit, but he quickly regained his footing.

 _ **Makoto's Life: 2**_

 _ **Chiaki: End of Move**_

"Dear God," Leon gasped. "That was one hell of a storm."

"It was," Peko mused grimly. "And it was one we were ill-prepared for when we faced off against Chiaki."

Leon turned to her. "You mean she mopped the floor with all of you too?"

"Oh, she did more than mop," Kazuichi said. "She buffed, polished and shined the floor with us. She's that good."

Leon looked at the field once more. "Man, talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing. I had no idea Magic World could be this… savage."

"That's what set my world from others," LeBlanc said matter-of-factly. "Like that girl said, we use our abilities to outmanouver our enemies when they think they have the upper hand and pull the rug from under them afterwards. What you witnessed here is the frightening power of Magic World."

Everyone stared at Makoto, who is down to his last two life points.

"I'm telling you," Fuyuhiko said. "Your friend made one hell of a mistake fighting her."

"Why would you say that?" Leon asked.

"When it comes to gaming, she is on another level," Sonia answered. "I fear the worst for your friend."

LeBlanc frowned at the two. "You're selling him a bit short."

Sonia looked in shame away while Fuyuhiko gave off a shrug of indifference. LeBlanc would have chewed them off further had she not felt an intense aura radiating from her own buddy.

"Sayaka, are you doing alright?"

The idol focused on the her childhood friend, knowing that he would pull through.

"I'm fine."

 _ **Makoto: Your Move**_

Makoto repeated the process like before, adding onto his gauge.

 _ **Makoto's Gauge: 6**_

"Okay, it's high enough," Makoto said. "I'm probably making a big risk by doing this. I think it's time we used it."

Slash turned to his buddy. "Are you sure, man?"

Makoto looked the hunter directly in the eyes. "I am certain. I have the card and the gauge. Now, all I need is your knives."

Slash widened his eyes and followed it up by widening his grin. "Makoto… let's give this gamer a match she'll never forget."

"With pleasure!" Makoto pointed towards the gamer. "Chiaki Nanami!"

"Huh? What's he trying to do?" the gamer asked.

Yuno smiled. "It looks like he's going to do something unexpected."

( **Play Kotoko: TRUE-BLUE- Opening version** )

"I am going to give you the fight you desire!" Makoto declared. "I promise you that this event will burn like a bonfire in your memory!"

Leon blinked. "Burn like a bonfire? What the hell is he going on about?"

"He's gone nuts," Hiyoko snickered. "The thought of losing to Chiaki has driven him insane and now he's spouting off nonsense."

"He's not spouting nonsense," Sayaka said. "He's going to give Chiaki a fight she'll remember."

Makoto lowered his arm. "Now, I buddy call to the center Virus Hunter, Slash."

The person in question leaped into the air and did a flip before landing on the ground. "Yeah! It's time to tear some shit up!"

Makoto took another card from his hand and threw it to the right position. "Next, I call to the right Macro Dragon!"

A small, white snake-like dragon with rockets on its sides appeared, growling lowly at Yuno.

 _ **Macro Dragon**_

 _ **Size: 1**_

 _ **Type: Monster**_

 _ **Power: 2000**_

 _ **Critical: 2**_

 _ **Defense: 3000**_

 _ **World: Virtual World**_

 _ **Attributes: Viral Dragon**_

"Finally, I pay three of my gauge to activate Slash's skill," Makoto said. "This allows him to penetrate through a monster and attack the fighter directly."

Three of the gauge went into Slash and he immediately felt the power rushing

"Even if you were to do that, you wouldn't be able to deplete my life," Chiaki stated. "And Yuno's defense is the same as Slash's attack, making the effort useless."

Makoto smiled. "That would be true… that is, unless I did a link attack."

Chiaki gasped. "You mean… you summoned another monster just to perform a link attack? And you added the penetrate skill for your buddy-"

"That's right," Makoto answered. "With this, my victory is assured. Now, Slash, Macro!"

"You got it, boss!"

Slash and Macro rushed towards Yuno, braving past the gusts of wind that he sent their way. Using their combined power, they strike him with a knife stab and bite, respectively.

"Huh… I guess this is how it ends," Yuno said as he was destroyed. But that wasn't the end. Slash jumped on Macro's back and the two charged towards Chiaki, preparing to end the fight. Knowing what would happen, she took off her helmet and smiled.

"This was fun… but it looks like it's game over for me."

The two monster struck her, taking every last life point she had.

 _ **Final Results**_

 _ **Makoto – Life: 2**_

 _ **Chiaki – Life: 0**_

 _ **Game Over**_

 _ **Winner: Makoto Naegi**_

Makoto let out a sigh of relief. "That was a close one."

The class of 77-B couldn't believe it. This unremarkable boy, the one who they thought had no chance, defeated their classmate even when defeat was all but inevitable. Truly, this was a fight worth remembering.

"I can't believe it," Fuyuhiko said, trying hard to keep his jaw from gaping. "That little bastard actually beat her.

Akane scratched the back of her head. "He succeeded where the rest of us failed. Who would've thought?"

Sayaka smiled as Makoto went over to Chiaki and shook her hand. "I knew he would win. He always finds a way to push through."

* * *

-Inside the main building-

Celeste and Valkor watch as Makoto talked with Chiaki, having witnessed the fight from start to finish.

( **Persona 5 OST: Blood of Villain** )

"You were right to show an interest in him madam," the black knight said. "Despite his appearance, he has potential."

The gambler let out a grin. "Indeed he does. It's often said that appearances can be deceiving. I say that Makoto is one of many embodiments of that old idiom."

Valkor nodded. "I suppose you wish to battle him as well."

"I would be lying if I said I didn't want to see his prowess myself," Celeste said. "He has gained my interest for quite sometime. I assume you wish to battle him as well?"

"But of course," Valkor replied, placing his fist over his chest. "I have long awaited to do away with that blue-haired cur that dared speak with you in such a manner."

Celeste giggled once more, her crimson eyes shining. "Don't worry, my dear knight. We shall soon teach those two how we differ in power."

* * *

 **KS: Oh boy. Makoto had one yet another Buddyfight, but it looks like another one is up on the horizon. Let's hope he and Slash have what it takes to brave the horrors that lie ahead with Celeste and her dark knight. On another note, I have selected Yuno from Black Clover as Chiaki's buddy. I'm sure he's a perfect fit for a girl like her. Anyway, I wish the best of you all. Make sure to comment, follow and fave this fic. Have a good one. Peace.**

* * *

 **Preview of Next Chapter**

Vladimir: Be silent... can you feel it?

Hina: Feel what?

Vladimir: The atmosphere has changed. (chuckles) There's going to be some blood spilt.

Toko: B-Blood?

Lala: I sense it as well. This fight will be one of great brutality.

Toyohisa: The scars are sure to be plentiful.

Sobek: And the violence will be at an all-time high.

Kyoko: ...Someone please explain why I was dragged here.

 **To be continued in Chapter 9: The Wicked March of the Black Queen**


End file.
